‘Stop Forcing Pat McAfee On Us,’ ‘They Have to Find a Way to Justify That Contract’ — Fans React to Disney Casting $85M ESPN Star in New Movie

Priyanshu Choudhary Wed, October 14, 2026 at 8:07 AM UTC

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Sep 21, 2026; Inglewood, CA, USA; Pat McAfee on the ESPN Monday Night Countdown set at SoFi Stadium. © Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Pat McAfee’s rise in sports media has been nothing short of meteoric, as he quickly wasted little time becoming one of the biggest voices in the industry. Since his partnership with ESPN, the former Indianapolis Colts punter has gone from strength to strength, as his role at the network has continued to increase.

Now, his latest foray is taking him beyond sports and into the world of entertainment and Hollywood. With ESPN coming under the Disney umbrella, McAfee now has a prominent role in an upcoming animated film.

Fans, though, aren’t too keen on that idea.

Pat McAfee Wins No Fans By Becoming a Disney Actor

The latest addition to McAfee’s list of responsibilities came via Disney. Their upcoming animated film, “Hexed,” had its first trailer release this week.

Alongside a star-studded cast that includes Hailee Steinfeld, Jodie Foster, and Rashida Jones, McAfee will also be voicing a character in the film. But for fans, it was a touch too much of McAfee fatigue, with his presence now a near constant across ESPN.

“Disney, stop forcing Pat McAfee on us,”one fan wrote, but others believed it could be a case of the network trying to get the most out of his contract.

Signed to a reported $85 million contract, he is being paid more than a lot of players currently, and the amount totals more than four times what he earned in his entire playing career.

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“They have to find a way to justify that contract,”wrote Joseph Hoyt, a Dallas Cowboys beat reporter.

Another fan echoed Hoyt’s sentiments, claiming, “Gotta have that contract be worth it somehow.”

A similar train of thought spread across the internet,as another fan joked, “Disney is making that man work for his paycheck; I don’t see the problem here.”

After his podcast, McAfee became a host for ESPN’s College GameDay. Then, he was added as a panellist on Monday Night Countdown as well.

Fresh reports indicate he could be getting his own alternate broadcast, similar to the ManningCast, for Monday Night Football games as well as the Super Bowl.

However, given the backlash against him becoming a regular sight, the decision felt like a bizarre choice, and one fan joked, “It’s like he read the room and thought ‘What if I tripled down?'”

NFL writer Ryan Conway took it one step further, joking that ESPN’s McAfee push just about amounts to “indoctrination.”

It remains to be seen how the new foray goes for McAfee. But his partnership with ESPN has undoubtedly turned out to be very fruitful for him, as he continues to become a bigger name in the mainstream.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”