Pat McAfee Wins Power Struggle As ESPN Dumps Executive Accused Of Sabotaging Popular Show

Norby Williamson's time at ESPN reportedly has come to an end.

Williamson was accused by Pat McAfee - the new face of ESPN - of sabotaging his show since joining the network back in January. McAfee quickly doubled down by referring to Williamson as a "rat."

The verbal offensive sparked a reported massive internal power struggle (read a great breakdown from Bobby Burack here) behind the scenes at ESPN, and there's now a clear winner.

It's not Norby Williamson.

Norby Williamson reportedly out at ESPN.

ESPN has dumped Norby Williamson effective immediately after nearly 40 years with the network, according to the New York Post. The main problem was that "Williamson did not share a vision that aligned with ESPN’s long-term strategy and that [President of ESPN content Burke] Magnus made the decision to part ways with the seasoned executive.

The New York post reported that Williamson was due to stay with the network through the 2027 Super Bowl. Well, that's definitely not going to happen and there's only one way to interpret this situation.

Pat McAfee won in blowout fashion.

Norby Williamson out at ESPN after feud with Pat McAfee. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

ESPN invested an incredible amount of resources and money into acquiring "The Pat McAfee Show," and Williamson reportedly wasn't a fan of bringing a YouTube star into a traditional TV setting.

A civil war started, and it was clear from the early stages of the conflict that McAfee felt he held all the cards. Many doubted that was the case.

McAfee turned out to be correct because he's the face of ESPN, the network is positioning him as the future, he has a major role on GameDay and Norby Williamson reportedly no longer has a job.

It's a classic example of "If you come at the king, you best not miss."

This is a developing situation. Make sure to check back to OutKick for updates as we have them, and let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.