Pat McAfee has been nominated for one of the highest honors in the football world.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has named McAfee as one of the Modern-Era Nominees for the Class of 2023. As per the Pro Football Hall of Fame process, the list of 129 nominees will be trimmed to 125 semifinalists in November, and 15 finalists will be confirmed in January.
McAfee played college football for West Virginia, and the Indianapolis Colts drafted him in the seventh round in 2009. He was named to the 2009 NFL All-Rookie Team after his first season. McAfee was a first-team All Pro in 2014, and he made the Pro Bowl in both 2014 and 2016. He retired in 2017, citing injuries and other factors in his decision.
Following the conclusion of his NFL career, McAfee joined Barstool Sports and later launched The Pat McAfee Show, which has become quite successful. McAfee announced a $120 million dollar deal with FanDuel for the show in 2021.
The list of 129 will be cut to 25 semifinalists in November; 15 Finalists will be revealed in January.
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) September 20, 2022
Speaking on the September 20 edition of The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee reacted to his nomination as he seemingly learned about it on the air.
“I did not deserve that, McAfee said. “I did not play long enough to deserve that. Woah, man. How does that even happen. Don’t [vote for me]. Vote for Shane Lechler. This is one of those things, vote for Shane Lechler. This is wild to be on this f——graphic. Man, that’s wild. Let’s go. Holy f—. Don’t vote me in, but this is cool to even be acknowledged. Did not play long enough, did not have a big enough contribution to the game, but I am to cover the game every single day since then.
“If any of these people go in that are representing special teams, I will be f——pumped about this. This is something I could have never expected. I hope Shane goes in, I hope all the boys go in. What a joke, dude. What an absolute joke. Hey, that’s pretty cool. This is like an interesting thing now because I’ve judged this type of situation in others in the past. I go, did he actually? Or is it because he’s a popular person in the thing? Whatever the case, it’s cool to be on this side of it all.”
He continued, noting that it’s awesome, and while he doesn’t necessarily think he’ll get inducted, he appreciates the recognition.
“It is f—— awesome and insane,” McAfee said. “I don’t fully know how to take it all. [Getting in], that would be insane. That is wild, dude. Thank you to whoever put that graphic together and that list together. I obviously do not believe I deserve it, but somebody did and put me on there. Thank you, I appreciate it. That’s f——, that’s awesome. Probably won’t happen, shouldn’t happen, but the fact that the conversation even took place, I appreciate it.” (H/t Fightful)
It is AWESOME to be on this list#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/to6B4UvYzo
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 20, 2022
McAfee joined the WWE SmackDown commentary team in 2021 after he had previously a brief run in NXT. He then faced Austin Theory and Vince McMahon in two singles matches at WrestleMania 38, and he subsequently signed a multi-year deal with the company. McAfee also competed at WWE SummerSlam, where he defeated Happy Corbin.
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