Pat McAfee “didn’t expect” the wave of backlash he received this week after revealing his self-titled show will be moving to ESPN later this year.
During Thursday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” the former NFL punter, 36, addressed reactions from fans, stating it’s been “a little bit more negative” on the social media front.
“It’s been tough to go over the mentions,” McAfee said.
Warning: Explicit language
“It has been tough out there. I don’t think I expected that. That was a miscalculation… I think the reason I didn’t expect it is because it didn’t even cross my mind… I feel like our people are the ones that were most mad. It’s like, ‘Hey, we have a good history, do we not?'”
McAfee then added that “some of the things that are being said are very, very, very rude.”
Earlier this week, The Post’s Andrew Marchand reported McAfee is moving to ESPN in a multi-million dollar deal.
The media personality is seemingly stepping away from his four-year, $120 million contract with FanDuel, in which he is currently in the second year of the agreement.
Though salary details are not entirely known, it is believed to be in the ballpark of eight figures per year, sources told Marchand.
McAfee — who is a regular on the network’s “College GameDay” — discussed the forthcoming move to ESPN on Tuesday’s show, vowing to viewers they “ain’t changing a damn thing.”
“That was literally the starter for every conversation with everybody this Up To Something Season,” said McAfee, who added the team “will still have full creative control of the program,” but perhaps more limited use of a certain four-letter F-word.
“Out of respect for that, we have decided we won’t be saying ‘f–k’ nearly as much, but every other word is good to go,” he said.
Despite the promise from McAfee, however, some fans accused him of “selling out.”
“Pat Mcafee selling out. Another one bites the dust,” one fan tweeted.
Another fan wrote, “Its been days now and im still devastated about the pat mcafee show moving to ESPN.”
“Good luck finding a new audience over at ESPN Pat McAfee,” one tweeted.
“The Pat McAfee Show” will air simultaneously on ESPN, ESPN+, and the ESPN YouTube page, slotted in after “Get Up” and “First Take” beginning this fall.