From 2021-22, Pat McAfee provided his energetic commentary alongside Michael Cole on SmackDown, complementing Cole’s veteran presence on the microphone. Last fall, however, McAfee stepped away from his duties to take a bigger role on ESPN’s “College GameDay” show and to continue The Pat McAfee Show.
Since then, the former NFL punter has appeared at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, but his return as a full-time talent doesn’t seem imminent, especially considering his recent comments.
In an Instagram Q&A, McAfee expressed his love for WWE and his honor at having had the opportunity to work with them, but noted that his other commitments, including his new ESPN show premiering on Sept. 7, prevent him from taking on more WWE work at this time (h/t Fightful for transcription).
“This is going to sound like pandering or a cheap pop. It’s not. Every day. Literally. When I was in the NFL, I was envious of people who could do indie wrestling because I wasn’t allowed under my NFL contract and I couldn’t jeopardize what was paying for my me, family and friends to have a much better life. I get an opportunity to wrestle and do the WWE life, an it was an honor and a dream, and I had the time of my fucking life in there. Loved it, every single moment, but now my business has got to a point where I’m very lucky for this and fortunate for this. We’ve worked our ass off, but I’m incredibly busy, and we’ve got fifteen employees over here that are having babies and building houses. It’s a tough thing to deal with mentally because emotionally, I want to be there, but I just can’t timing wise. We will figure it out.”
WWE has been entertained by McAfee, but until his other commitments reduce, it will be a while before he takes on full-time roles as a commentator or in another capacity.