Back in 1996, Tom Cruise dangled from a ceiling to steal a floppy disk, and the theatres were filled just to see a guy in his early thirties doing stunts. Fast forward to now, and he’s piloting a biplane upside-down in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning at the age of 62. 30 years apart, calendars changed, but Tom Cruise? Nah. He’s still doing his own stunts. The final installment of one of the greatest action franchises is set to hit the theatres this Thursday.

We’re going to watch it, you’re going to watch it, and guess Pat McAfee is all excited for this $400 million budget movie as well. But that’s not all. In fact, before you could even enjoy Cruise’s action sequences on the big screen, the NFL legend just dropped a bombshell. On Tuesday, McAfee shared a video on his official ‘X’ handle, and no, he wasn’t analyzing anything NFL-related. Nope.

In fact, he dropped some footage of the Mission: Impossible franchise and announced that Tom Cruise will appear on the Pat McAfee Show tomorrow. Yeah, you read that right. “Tom Cruise is on the show tomorrow,” McAfee screamed with excitement. And you just can’t blame him. “Obviously, Final Reckoning is in theaters on Thursday. Everybody is gonna go to this movie. It is 2 hours and 50 minutes, I believe, of nonstop, right hook, left hook, right hook, left hook.”

Ahead of its US release this Thursday, the Final Reckoning debuted in selected asian markets with excellent fan response in Japan, South Korea, as well as India. Marketed as the final installment of the greatest action franchise, Tom Cruise’s film has already earned over $11.5 million from these three international markets, after its premiere at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival.

If the numbers are accurate, the film has already generated over $5 million from Korea, over $4 million from India, and over $2 million from Japan. The Final Reckoning serves as the direct sequel to Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning, which came out in 2023. Made on a budget of nearly $300 million, the previous installment underperformed, having grossed nearly $600 million worldwide. And that’s where it all gets pretty amazing.

See, the release of Dead Reckoning was followed by a clash with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which affected its box-office collection in one way or another. That means Paramount is under extreme pressure and is expecting the Final Reckoning to gross around $800 million worldwide just to break even. Because get this, the final installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise has been produced with a gigantic budget of $400 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made.

But given that the film is marketed as the final film of the franchise, Tom Cruise’s hard work of 30 years as Ethan Hunt comes to an end, and with decent reviews (80% on Rotten Tomatoes), it’s likely the film will debut on the domestic box office on a high note. And the veteran actor is out there promoting his film to draw the audience to the theaters. His next stop? It’s the Pat McAfee Show. And he’ll be appearing on the show on May 21.

But right before that goes down, McAfee just spiced things up for his fans. And we aren’t talking about Tom Cruise’s guest appearance on his show. Considering the NFL legend is a big Indiana Pacers fan, and the NBA season is coming to an end, McAfee is ready to do something impossible.

Pat McAfee to do something he never did?

Back in 2009, Pat McAfee moved to Indianapolis after the Colts drafted him in the 2009 NFL draft. And the ex-NFLer built his NFL career and life in Indianapolis. So, it’s understandable why McAfee is a huge fan of the Indiana Pacers. Now that the NBA season is coming to an end, the excitement is building. So does the tension for the Pacers’ fans. Why? Well, they are set to clash against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

McAfee wants the Pacers to win, no doubt. But the interesting part? It’s his confidence. He seems confident whenever someone asks him if he’s confident for the Pacers. And that’s where it gets pretty thrilling for him. On the May 19 episode of RAW, McAfee sat down alongside his co-announcer, Michael Cole. Cole interviewed Pacers’ point guard Tyrese Haliburton and didn’t wait a moment to turn toward McAfee and propose a bet, given Haliburton and the Knicks’ Jaylen Brunson are WWE fans.

“Pat, I think we’ve got to bet on this,” he said to McAfee. And the ex-NFLer was all in for it as well. “That’s right. The Pacers win, Cole will do an entire RAW episode in a tank top. And if the Knicks win, I will do an episode in a suit like Cole,” McAfee added. Insane. And to make it obvious, Pat took to his official ‘X’ handle, posted the clip, and announced the bet.

Things are getting interesting, and one thing’s for sure. Folks out there are going to see the other side of either of ’em very soon. Either Pat McAfee will appear in a suit on TV or Michael Cole will appear in a tank top. Diabolical. Safe to say that the Pacers vs. Knicks showdown has become a lot more interesting.