Pat McAfee hints at fresh feud with 'old, white' ESPN executives as he reveals online abuse and death threats

Pat McAfee has hinted at renewed tensions with 'old, white' executives behind the scenes at ESPN in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday morning.

It came after the College GameDay host also shared a collage of sickening online criticism he got in the wake of the show in Eugene, Oregon on October 11. 

The posts included comments such as 'Pat needs to go. Not a fan at all!' and 'Ruining this show for me'. He also alluded to having received death threats. 

Ex-NFL player McAfee, 38, signed an $85million deal with ESPN in 2023 and licenses his hugely popular 'Pat McAfee Show' to the network. He also appears on GameDay every Saturday morning.  

But his relationship with ESPN bosses has been far from plain sailing and he even once accused former ESPN executive Norby Williamson of trying to sabotage his show in January 2024.

After Aaron Rodgers appeared to suggest Jimmy Kimmel would be named as one of Jeffrey Epstein's associates during one of his then-weekly Tuesday appearances in January 2024, McAfee let rip at Williamson for allegedly attempting to bring down his show.

Williamson left ESPN in April 2024 but that still didn't prevent WWE commentator McAfee from taking aim at some executives during his post on Instagram, in which he also called out the trolls.

'I just got done a little morning workout. It's nice to read those comments,' he said in the video.

'I'd like to let all you old f***s know, I hate you too. Never got along with that class of people. Teachers, principals, you name it. Since I [was] a kid, always hated me. It's kind of a part of life now.

'If you think about old white people and old ESPN people, those are really the people that hate me the most at this stage of life.

'Now granted, there's some other groups that certainly have threatened my life on a pretty regular basis, I'd say they hate me too. 

'But throughout the entirety, old whites and the old ESPN people over the last like three years have really hated me. That's who all the producers are of GameDay too.

'So now - it's been a fun run. College football is great. OK, cheers. Have a great day.'

It is unclear what gripe McAfee has with ESPN at present but he did say on Monday's episode that he thought GameDay should have been based in Provo ahead of last week's huge BYU vs Utah game. 

McAfee has completely reinvigorated GameDay in the three years since he arrived, particularly with his student kicking challenge and passion for college football.

Fellow ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith was forced to deny that there is animosity between him and McAfee last year.

A report from the New York Post indicated that the pair had an explosive phone call - with McAfee calling his colleague a 'motherf***er' and Smith banning the former punter from 'First Take'.

On his podcast, The Stephen. A Smith Show, the host quickly responded to the story - denying the rift; but not expressly denying the phone call took place.

'There is no dispute whatsoever. Pat McAfee is my teammate. Pat McAfee and I work together on ESPN. There is no banishment from 'First Take' or any other show,' Smith said.

'He is more than welcome to come on 'First Take' in the future and I'm gonna be more than welcome to come on his show.

In a Q&A with The Athletic in July 2024, ESPN's content president, Burke Magnus, admitted that the network's working relationship with McAfee is complicated.

When asked about the Rodgers situation, Magnus said, 'He’s technically not an ESPN employee, which limits sort of the conventional paths we have in circumstances like that. 

'We do license his show, which he fully produces and controls entirely. But … it is our platform at the end of the day. That’s the delicate balance when in circumstances like you mentioned.'