NFL
Joe Buck Tried Goading Pat McAfee Into Giving Aaron Rodgers Money That the Packers Quarterback Doesn’t Need
John Moriello started covering sports in 1982, began digital publishing in 1995, and joined Sportscasting in 2020. A graduate of St. John Fisher University, he finds inspiration in the underdogs and the fascinating stories sports can tell (both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat). John expertly covers all aspects of NASCAR. Beginning with his 2014 coverage at Fox Sports of the aftermath of the dirt-race tragedy in which Kevin Ward Jr. died after being struck by a car driven by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart, John has excelled as a journalist who specializes in the motorsports world. He previously spent more than three decades covering high school sports and worked as a beat writer covering Big East football and basketball, but NASCAR is now where the true expertise falls. John is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame (2013), the President of the New York State Sportswriters Association, and a two-time Best of Gannett winner for print and online collaborations whose work has appeared on FoxSports.com and MaxPreps.com.
Get to know John Moriello betterPublished20 Dec 2021
Joe Buck was feeling generous Sunday during the NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens. Unfortunately, Fox Sports’ No. 1 play-by-play announcer was trying to do so with Pat McAfee’s money.
Oddly enough, McAfee almost seemed on board with the idea. In fact, he might have even been willing to go along with it if not for the fact that the proposed recipient might be 10 times wealthier than McAfee.
Former NFL punter Pat McAfee is swimming in money now
Popular radio and YouTube talk show host Pat McAfee recently signed a deal with FanDuel for a reported $120 million over four years, an impressive score for a gig outside of mainstream media. McAfee made $15 million in an eight-year NFL career as a punter and has presumably been doing nicely as a media celebrity since retiring in 2016. But $30 million a year is quite a score, even if he has to pay his staff and overhead out of his own pocket.
It’s no accident that McAfee has focused on the internet and extraterrestrial radio. He has a vocabulary skewing toward NSFW that would never fly on radio or TV stations that have to answer to the FCC. But McAfee has won his audience over with his personality and his access to guests like Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
In fact, Rodgers congratulated McAfee on the lucrative new deal during one of his near-weekly appearances on the show.
“Couldn’t be more happy for you guys,” Rodgers told McAfee. “Couldn’t happen to better people, harder workers in the business, and I watched that — and I was texting with you last week — but I watched that video that you put together and, it’s, umm — it gets you a little misty watching that, man.”
Joe Buck tried goading Pat McAfee into giving Aaron Rodgers money
Fox Sports’ national NFL game Sunday was a gem as the Green Bay Packers held off the Baltimore Ravens, 31-30. Along the way, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck fired a funny comment Pat McAfee’s way.
During an appearance on McAfee’s popular show, Rodgers spoke about how much he likes running play fakes, a conversation Buck mentioned during the game. He wrapped up the story with a suggestion for McAfee.
“And one more note, Pat McAfee, Rodgers is still looking for his cut of your new big deal.”
Joe Buck
McAfee appreciated the joke, responding on Twitter.
“Shahtaht you too dude,” he wrote.
Aaron Rodgers doesn’t need anyone else’s money
Pat McAfee’s net worth is $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers earns that much two-thirds of the way through an NFL season, courtesy of the four-year, $134 million contract extension he signed before the 2018 season.
That would be reason No. 1 why McAfee shouldn’t feel compelled to offer any of his newfound wealth to Rodgers. Reason No. 2 would be that McAfee is already committed to spending a healthy chunk of change.
Shortly after revealing his new $120 million deal, McAfee announced he was paying $250,000 bonuses to each of his on-air team members. Sports Illustrated reported he also announced more than $6 million in donations to youth sports programs and a variety of charities, including $1 million to the Peyton Manning children’s hospital.
Financial data courtesy of Spotrac.com.
