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Pat McAfee breaks silence on ESPN layoffs amid rumored $60 million a year coup appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Weeks after it was reported that Pat McAfee was negotiating a new contract worth $60 million a year, a round of layoffs has been conducted by ESPN.
This has resulted in casualties such as Ryan Clark, Cam Newton, Karl Ravech, Tom Pelissero, and more. During the Tuesday, July 21, 2026, edition of The Pat McAfee Show (via Awful Announcing), he espn/pat-mcafee-responds-blamed-layoffs-terrible.html" rel="noopener">addressed the “terrible” firings.
“We hate any time this happens,” McAfee said. “Obviously this is terrible. We don’t like that. But we are very honored that we are still partnered with ESPN and Disney for the good of sport and the future.”
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He later seemingly debunked rumors that his show’s licensing fee plays a role in the layoffs. He noted that they previously got “blamed” for layoffs when the show was first licensed by the network.
“OK, OK. Thank you. I feel like you don’t fully understand budgets and where things are coming from, but I do appreciate that,” he elaborated. “This time, we’re getting blamed as well. Which I guess I can understand, but I mean, there’s billions and billions of dollars in these companies, and hard decisions have to get made. And we don’t like any of them, and we hope we’re an asset to the company going forward.”
Pat McAfee is safe from the latest round of ESPN layoffs
It appears McAfee is safe from the ESPN layoffs, given his high profile. He is not a traditional ESPN talent, as his live show was acquired by the network in September 2023. It had already been around for several years following his retirement from the NFL.
In June 2026, it was reported that McAfee’s team was in negotiations with ESPN on a contract extension. The reported extension would pay McAfee upwards of $60 million a year. At the time, the two sides were “between $50 to 65 million per year.”
The deal was not done, and terms were still being worked out. Fans were divided over the reports, and more fuel to the fire was added after the latest round of layoffs by ESPN.
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