Pat McAfee quickly became a fan favorite in WWE for his commentary in the company as part of the SmackDown broadcast team.
McAfee, who stepped away last fall to be part of the ESPN “College Gameday” panel, was a surprise commentator for the Royal Rumble and wrestled The Miz at WrestleMania 39.
McAfee recently signed a deal with ESPN to move his Pat McAfee Show to the network for big money.
While doing a Q&A on Instagram, McAfee noted that the two sides are trying to figure out a way for him to be part of the product while he balances a busy career and personal life, but timing is the issue.
“This is going to sound like pandering or a cheap pop, and 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 me, [my] family, and friends to have a much better life. I got an opportunity to wrestle and do the WWE life, and 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.”
https://twitter.com/Andrew_Ravens/status/1694763945364521146
