Pat McAfee Releases Lengthy Statement Amid ESPN/Aaron Rodgers Drama

Pat McAfee released an incredibly lengthy statement Wednesday night amid nonstop drama.

McAfee has been taking fire due to Aaron Rodgers' viral guests appearances on "The Pat McAfee Show," the QB's feud with Jimmy Kimmel over a Jeffrey Epstein joke, he called out an ESPN executive two different times in brutal fashion for allegedly sabotaging his show and then told fans Wednesday Rodgers is done for the NFL season on his show.

That led to a lot of speculation that perhaps McAfee pulled the plug. The former Colts punter turned media superstar addressed that and much more in his statement.

Pat McAfee releases statement amid lots of chaos.

There was plenty of speculation about why McAfee felt the need to address Rodgers being done on the Wednesday episode of his show.

Did he pull the plug or was it scheduled? McAfee claimed in the statement it was always scheduled to end, which does back up the sign off from Tuesday.

"Our fans know that ART ends shortly after Aaron’s team’s season ends.. that’s how it’s been. He’ll make random surprise welcomed pop ins during big events or offseason adventures but, it’s always been a season thing. I never said he’ll never be on the show again. I hope he chooses to still chat with us. We’ve been lucky the last 4 years to ride the wave of a season with a 4X NFL MVP (2 of which during The ART Era) and get his thoughts along the way.. in real time," McAfee told his fans.

McAfee also addressed the fact politics have been discussed on his show - Rodgers sharing thoughts on COVID being the the most famous example - and it sounds like the sports media icon would like to put that behind him.

He stated the following when it comes to politics:

I haven’t polled our crowd but I’m rather certain that nobody’s wanting to come hangout with us to hear us talk about politics. I think it’s probably a massive reason for our success actually… so all of this has been a good reminder of what we’re good for, and who we’re good for. Some day, I’ll try and build up enough of a brain to dive into the politics world but that time is nowhere near now..
...
I certainly don’t love that I’ve found myself in political wars and public beefs because of something that a guest has said on our show or something that my dumbass has said.. including a lawsuit that was VERY public.. but I think what I’ve come to realize is that it’s gonna come with the territory of this venture. We are much more aware of that now. And, for the good of our lives, happiness, and mana.. we’re gonna try and avoid as many as possible.

You can read his entire statement in the tweet below, and hit me with your thoughts on McAfee at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.

Does Pat McAfee need to change?

I understand why McAfee is trying to keep everything on track. There's been a lot of chaos surrounding the show over the past couple weeks.

However, McAfee has literally nothing to apologize for, and he definitely shouldn't change a thing. His job is to entertain and put on a great show.

The past couple weeks have been wildly entertaining. The man verbally crushed Norby Williamson in absolutely ruthless fashion, and then DOUBLED DOWN. McAfee has been trending off and on ever since.

Why would he want to change? For what reason would he want to tweak anything? He shouldn't just force politics into the show, but if there's a good reason, then get after it. If there's a feud to be had, then embrace it. Don't run from it. Don't hide. Give people what they want.

Pat McAfee releases statement addressing chaos on the show. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

As for Aaron Rodgers, plenty of hot takes were flying around Wednesday. At the end of the day, only McAfee, Rodgers and others involved with the show know whether or not there were more planned appearances. McAfee is now on record there weren't. Is that the truth? Impossible to say unless someone else comes out on the record. Hit me with your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.