Pat McAfee Is Winning ESPN Power Struggle, And Isn't Afraid To Say So | Bobby Burack

Pat McAfee called ESPN head of event and studio production Norby Williamson a "rat" on ESPN airwaves earlier this year. He accused Williamson of trying to "sabotage" his show by leaking negative ratings to media reporters. 

McAfee discussed the incident during an appearance on the "All The Smoke" podcast this week, where he said he held back and has more to say about Williamson.

"I don’t know. I don’t know if there was any conversations that happened behind the scenes. I thought that was a warning shot to that guy.

"I’m the executive producer of my show, I report directly to Jimmy [Pitaro] and Bob [Iger], so I’m not really feeling any of it. Everyone was like ‘Pat calls out his boss’ and I’m like ‘I don’t got a motherf---ing boss.

"So that was just a warning shot to a person who I thought was at the same level, which is hilarious because I guess he’s the former president of the place, a lot of people have a lot of fear of him. I did not. I did not. That guy left me sitting in his office for 45 minutes, no-showed me when I was supposed to have a meeting with him, five years ago, six years ago."

Watch the full clip below:

McAfee is right. The coverage that said "McAfee called out his boss" was not accurate. Williamson is one of the more powerful suits inside the company. However, ESPN "layered" him last summer in favor of Burke Magnus, to whom McAfee technically answers. 

Williamson does not have the power to discipline McAfee. He tried to prevent the hiring of McAfee and lost said battle. 

Still, it's revealing that ESPN stood by McAfee so strongly in the aftermath of the segment. ESPN-on-ESPN crime, no matter the status of the two subjects, was historically frowned upon inside the company.

Yet according to McAfee, ESPN barely confronted him about his comments. Instead, Magnus posed with McAfee for a photo at a Colts game days later, sending an obvious message to Williamson on whose side he stands.

McAfee threatening to disclose more dirt about Williamson – beyond his "warning shot" – if need be, suggests just how empowered he feels within ESPN.

Translation: whatever power struggle exists between McAfee and Williamson, the former is winning. And winning handily. 

There was a belief in the industry that McAfee's lackluster linear television ratings could force the company to consider him not worth the perpetual headache. But as we argued in January, the value of McAfee is up to interpretation. 

It's true that he's not a draw on linear television. At least not yet.  McAfee had maintained just 52 percent of his lead in viewership from Stephen A. Smith on "First Take" at the time he called Norby a "rat."

Conversely, McAfee is the network's biggest draw on YouTube. He's right there with Smith as the company's most viewed individual on social media. 

To old-school television execs, like Norby Williamson, McAfee is not worth the gamble. To multimedia execs trying to attract younger viewers who don't subscribe to a cable package, McAfee is worth the migraine. 

Evidently, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, Burke Magnus, and Disney CEO Bob Iger fall into the latter category. Their actions, or lack thereof, suggest they see McAfee as more valuable than Williamson to the future of the brand.

 

Detractors criticized McAfee for "selling out" when he traded independence for an ESPN paycheck last year. That criticism was misdirected. 

McAfee didn't sell out. ESPN sold out.

ESPN has not successfully crafted a transcendent star personality since Stephen A. Smith in 2015. Viewers at large rejected the network's efforts to make stars out of Bomani Jones, Sarah Spain, Dan Le Batard, and Katie Nolan.

We don't blame those viewers.

So what did ESPN do? It looked outside the confines of its studios and purchased a ready-made star in Pat McAfee for $17 million a year. 

Such a signing came with concessions. Profound concessions.

McAfee is hardly the poster child for what ESPN prefers in a face of the network. He's not diverse or left-leaning politically. He's white and gives a platform to Aaron Rodgers. McAfee is loose and insubordinate. He's unpredictable and reckless in his commentary. He ignores ESPN priorities like regular season NBA and women's sports.

Pat McAfee does not play by ESPN rules. ESPN now plays by Pat McAfee's rules. 

That reality makes other talents and middle management uncomfortable. Oh, well. The heads of Disney and ESPN greenlit McAfee to continue making them feel uncomfortable.

Unofficially, McAfee is right: he ain't got no boss.