As Pat McAfee passes the midway level of his preliminary five-year contract with ESPN, negotiations are reportedly underway between the 2 sides on an extension.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel at Front Office Sports, McAfee is in talks to re-up with the Worldwide Leader on a “long-term” contract extension. His present deal, which sees ESPN license his hit digital video present from noon-2 p.m. ET every day and is reportedly value $85 million, expires in 2028.
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The information comes on the heels of McAfee’s announcement on Monday that he’s partnering with DraftKings, additionally the official sportsbook companion of the Worldwide Leader.
Over the previous a number of months, McAfee has hosted a number of specials for ESPN that sign growing trust from Bristol.
In early March, McAfee anchored NFL free agency coverage for the network, with fellow expertise Adam Schefter, Peter Schrager and Dan Orlovsky becoming a member of him on the “Thunderdome” outdoors Indianapolis. In April, McAfee introduced again his on-site NFL Draft stay present, also featuring Schrager and Orlovsky. And simply final week, McAfee helped ESPN fill an NBA conference finals window with a “State of Sports” primetime broadcast with interviews of league commissioners and star athletes.
Mike Foss, a distinguished liaison to McAfee inside Bristol, was recently promoted to EVP and govt editor, overseeing information and artistic content material.
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Separately from the licensing deal for The Pat McAfee Show, the previous Indianapolis Colts punter can be a panelist on College GameDay, which has seen ratings surge as McAfee has left his imprint on the present (despite what critics may want).
At the identical time, ESPN is certain to face sturdy competitors for McAfee’s providers if it lets him get near the open market. Netflix continues to aggressively push into talk programming in and around sports, inking a deal final month to air iHeartMedia’s The Breakfast Club live each morning. Previously, FanDuel reportedly paid McAfee eight figures yearly to license and sponsor his present.
McAfee additionally frequently flirts with WWE, the place he made a return for WrestleMania earlier this spring as a sidekick to famous person Randy Orton. The CEO of WWE’s father or mother firm, Ari Emanuel, also represents McAfee in Hollywood, as he prepares to debut in a task in director Peter Berg’s upcoming World War II film.
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