On Tuesday evening it was reported and then confirmed, that Pat McAfee would be joining ESPN College GameDay as a full-time member.
ESPN College GameDay airs on Saturday mornings from different cities around the country in line with the major college football game for the weekend. McAfee is the lead color commentator for WWE SmackDown, which airs live on Friday nights in a new city every week.
Speaking on his Pat McAfee Show, McAfee announced that his role as WWE announcer is on hold while he does College GameDay.
"Last week, we got a deal done that allows me to join College GameDay full-time this season and also next season," he said. "With that, because it is Saturday morning, to make that decision and really be a firm 'yes' from me, I wanted to talk to the people from WWE. Obviously, I hold my role as a SmackDown commentator as high as anything else that I do because not only is it a dream for me since I was a little kid, but there are other little kids out there that are hopefully getting their imagination getting their goals and dreams created like I was when I was a kid watching WWE. I think WWE does that for kids and every time I got an opportunity to get on a microphone there, I wanted to honor that."
McAfee continued, saying he thought about doing both.
"Before I could agree to do College GameDay, which is an honor of a lifetime, I had to talk to WWE first and see what their thoughts were. I was thinking about maybe doing both, how do I go about doing it? I did it one time whenever SmackDown was in Buffalo and the plane was stuck in the Middle East. I had College GameDay the next morning in Memphis," he said before telling the story of using the private jet of Colts owner Jim Irsay to be at both shows.
"The original thought for me was, I could do SmackDown and GameDay. I can do it. The folks at the WWE, who I have nothing but love, respect, and appreciation for, I'm talking old regime, new regime, whoever you think is in charge, I have nothing but great feelings towards. I reach out to them and chit chat with them, they were the ones who said, 'If you're going to do GameDay, which is a great opportunity, congratulations, you cannot be traveling overnight for the entirety of the season. It's not good for your health, your family, anything. Whenever the time is right, we'll have you back in our family.' SmackDown, me commentating, will be on hold for a bit while I do College GameDay. I'm still very much in the WWE family," he said.
McAfee said he was grateful and thankful for the opportunity and believes they are in for the best football season ever. McAfee signed a multi-year contract with WWE in July.
Triple H posted the following statement on the matter:
.@PatMcAfeeShow approached us about his amazing opportunity with College GameDay. We’d never stand in Pat’s way, as he continues to architect his exceptional career.
— Triple H (@TripleH) September 7, 2022
Pat will remain a member of the @WWE Universe and we look forward to his return. #UpToSomethingSZN
Fightful provides live coverage WWE SmackDown every Friday beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
