The Tragic Side Of Pat McAfee's Real Life

Pat McAfee is a lifelong WWE fan who has gotten to not only live his dreams behind the commentary desk alongside legendary wrestling personality Michael Cole, but even mixed it up in the ring on the "Grandest Stage of the Them All" after proving he had wrestling chops in "WWE NXT." McAfee is a former NFL punter-turned-podcaster-turned-TV personality, with his own show on ESPN. His fun, lighthearted personality earned him a spot on the channel's popular College GameDay special every Saturday morning of the college football season, where McAfee hypes up the crowd on college campuses as well as provides analytical knowledge.

McAfee joined WWE back in 2018 as an analyst for NXT TakeOver events and in February 2019, McAfee signed a multi-year deal with WWE. He feuded with then-NXT Champion Adam Cole and was involved in storylines on the developmental brand's show. McAfee made his way to "WWE SmackDown" in April 2021, working as a color commentator alongside Michael Cole, and the pair appeared to become fast friends on television. McAfee has been an entrant in the Royal Rumble and even squared up to Vince McMahon himself at WrestleMania 38. McAfee and Cole moved to "WWE Raw" at the beginning of 2024 before McAfee took a break from behind the commentary desk.

Since signing, McAfee has taken multiple breaks from his commentary gig in WWE due to his numerous other projects; College GameDay seemingly being the biggest scheduling issue between his two loves of football and wrestling. While McAfee appears to be a happy-go-lucky guy on both ESPN and WWE, with his wild quips, dancing, and zany antics, he has been through a lot in life, on the field, in his personal life, and even in WWE.

Before he was a WWE personality, had his own ESPN show, or even kicked a football in the NFL, Pat McAfee was a kicker for West Virginia University. The freshman communications major got the starting job as a Mountaineer in 2005. Highlights of his college career included a victory in the Gator Bowl over Georgia Tech in 2006 when McAfee was a sophomore, and in his senior season in 2008, he was named as a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, given annually to college football's "most outstanding" punter.

Despite being good on the field, there is one game that sits as a blemish on McAfee's football career, something that deeply affected his mental health at the time. It was the Backyard Brawl, a name given to the rivalry game played between WVU and Pitt, in 2007. During the game, McAfee missed two relatively short field goals, from the 20 and 32 yard lines, in the first half, and WVU lost the game to Pitt in a 13-9 upset, which dropped WVU in the college football rankings. The football team was 10-1 at the time of the Backyard Brawl, and had they won, they could have played for the National Championship.

Following the game, McAfee told Sports Illustrated he had suicidal thoughts after missing the kicks. He said he didn't know if he wanted to live anymore, and that his life "changed immediately." McAfee said he just got in his car and drove all the way through Maryland from the college, disappearing for a few days. He also said that fans vandalized his car and even made death threats toward him.

"I didn't know where I was. I didn't know where I was headed. I didn't know what was coming next," McAfee admitted to the outlet.

Despite the Backyard Brawl fiasco, Pat McAfee completed his college career at WVU and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 as the 222nd overall pick. McAfee handled kick-off duties and punting for the Colts, as well as holding for extra points and field goals, something he had never done in college. The star was also listed as an emergency quarterback for the team, though he never took the field for the position during any games. McAfee and the Colts made it to Super Bowl 44, where they lost to the New Orleans Saints. He retired from professional football after eight seasons in February 2017, but he didn't leave the league completely healthy.

Shortly after his retirement, McAfee revealed that injuries played a part in his decision to leave the game. He had three knee surgeries in four years. He told Stampede Blue, a Colts news site, that even though his "brain and shoulders" were good, his knees and joints were beat up. He explained he already had bad knees from playing soccer as a kid before getting in to football. McAfee admitted the last few years of play were tough on him. He revealed on his own ESPN show in 2020 that he played an entire season with a torn meniscus.

"After games and after days that I would kick in practice I wouldn't even be able to walk at night. I mean, it just got to the point where my knees hurt so bad," McAfee told Stampede Blue. He said that when speaking to his doctor, if he continued with football, he would likely need more surgeries in the future. McAfee was only 29 years old at the time of his retirement.

McAfee has been known to enjoy an adult beverage, with WWE fans best knowing that from his time drinking beer with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the ring at WrestleMania 38 before being on the receiving end of a stunner. He's also been known to imbibe even when on the air, bragging about how much Guinness he drank on "The Pat McAfee Show" when "College GameDay" was in Ireland in 2024. However, that taste for alcohol got McAfee into trouble back when he played for the Colts.

McAfee was arrested for public intoxication after being found swimming in a canal at 4 a.m. back in October 2010. A woman called 911 early that morning claiming a wet, shirtless man tried to get in her car. The punter had been taking a little dip in the Central Canal in Indianapolis, though he told police he "wasn't sure" if he was in the water, but "knew it was raining." He told police he had alcohol in his system, by simply saying "I'm drunk." McAfee blew a 0.15 BAC when tested with a breathalyzer.

Police said he was mostly taken in to custody for his own safety, as no cabs were available at the time to take him home, though he did mention he could walk. A police spokesman said that McAfee was cooperative, but cold, as it was only around 40 degrees at the time. McAfee also allegedly never mentioned the fact he played for the Colts while being arrested. Despite McAfee suffering no serious consequences, his mug shot still follows him around to this day, and is often seen in the crowd during "College GameDay," which is known for its many signs.

"The Pat McAfee Show" had been a successful radio show for years before ESPN announced it would be moving to its platforms, including ESPN television. It debuted on TV in September 2023, the same day as the NFL season opener. Though successful and loved by sports fans with plenty of high-profile guests appearing weekly, McAfee has not always had it easy with his "progrum," and has butted heads with bigwigs at ESPN. In January, McAfee accused ESPN executive Norby Williamson of leaking ratings information for his show to reporters. The former punter said the executive was "actively trying to sabotage him" after the New York Post reported the show's low ratings compared to its lead-in on TV.

"I believe Norby Williamson is the guy who is attempting to sabotage our program," McAfee said while on-air. "I'm not 100% sure. That is just seemingly the only human that has information and then somehow that information gets leaked, and it's wrong."

That same week, McAfee faced criticism for giving New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers a platform to disparage Jimmy Kimmel, with the QB implying the late night host would be implicated in documents related to sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. McAfee apologized for Rodgers' comments related to Kimmel and Rodgers didn't appear on the show for some time, but tongues continued to wag after it was revealed McAfee paid Rodgers millions to appear on the show.

Despite the bumps on the road at the beginning of 2024, McAfee signed a five-year contract with ESPN worth $85 million in May. Rodgers is also back on the show one day out of the week, following being pulled for the remainder of 2023, after he refused to apologize for his comments.

Prior to his problems with ESPN at the beginning of the year, McAfee got himself into hot water legally when he was sued for defamation by retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre. The lawsuit stemmed from comments McAfee made on a podcast about a scandal involving Favre and the DiBiase family, regarding the misuse of state welfare funds in Mississippi. Favre took issue with the WWE commentator saying things like Favre was "stealing from poor people." The retired quarterback sought an apology from McAfee, but at the time the lawsuit was filed, hadn't receive one.

McAfee addressed the lawsuit on his show, and said the first letter he received asked him to remove any video with Favre's name mentioned in it from history of "The Pat McAfee Show." As for the apology, McAfee said he's "one of the worst apologizers in history" and it's difficult for him to do. He explained the timeline for the apology came and went, then "all of sudden, he was getting sued." McAfee stressed that on his show, he made sure to use the word "allegedly" when talking about Favre and the scandal.

As the lawsuit was filed in Mississippi where Favre lives, but McAfee is not a resident, McAfee elected to move the case to federal court in April 2023. The following month, Favre withdrew the suit. He said in a statement that, like McAfee said, he was trying to be funny and wasn't commenting on anything "based on personal knowledge." Favre said both men would rather talk about football. McAfee followed that with his statement on "The Pat McAfee Show" and said that he respects Favre and indeed had no personal knowledge of the case in Mississippi.

McAfee has also had to navigate tragedy in his personal life while dealing with legal issues and a busy career in both wrestling and in sports media. McAfee and his wife, Samantha, married in 2020, in a ceremony in Indianapolis that was initially planned for Hawaii, where they first got engaged, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Pat and Samantha McAfee welcomed their daughter, Mackenzie Lynn, in 2023, but the parents suffered through heartbreak before welcoming their baby girl into the world.

Samantha was very open about the couple's struggle with infertility on her Instagram, sharing that she had lost two pregnancies that had threatened her life due to complications, before the couple welcomed their daughter. When she first announced her pregnancy, she wrote an emotional note on the platform and shared her in-vitro fertilization, or IVF, journey. She called the process "physically demanding" as well as "emotionally challenging" for both her and her husband.

"For those of you who haven't followed along with our parenthood journey, we have lost two pregnancies," Samantha wrote. "I almost lost my life both times with internal bleeding, resulting in losing both of my Fallopian tubes, which has caused us to not be able to conceive naturally." When announcing their pregnancy, Samantha noted in a post to X (formerly Twitter) she went through "about 150 shots, a surgery, a transfer, countless blood tests, waiting on embryos, genetic testing, hoping for a big fat positive on a pee stick."

Mackenzie Lynn was born two weeks early and weighed just 7 pounds. McAfee and his wife announced her birth on Instagram, with a picture of her foot and the caption, "I can't wait to see where this foot gets to go beautiful girl. WE LOVE YOU."

McAfee seems to be a well-liked guy within the WWE and hasn't had any reported instances of backstage drama or heat. However, he did have to miss one episode of "Raw" due to the tragic, sudden death of his father-in-law. When fans tuned in to the broadcast, Cole told the audience McAfee was not as the show, and he was joined on commentary for the first portion of the show by The Miz. At the time, McAfee was involved in a storyline with the Wyatt Sicks, so many thought maybe his absence, as the show was broadcast from his home city of Indianapolis, was a work. However, McAfee revealed on his show that his father-in-law had been in the hospital fighting an infection, and though he was expected to be discharged, he took a turn for the worst and died.

There may not be issues behind-the-scenes with the former punter in WWE, but there were some issues, with fans, at least, with his inclusion in the video game world. McAfee and his buddies from his ESPN show were available as downloadable content, "The Pat McAfee Show Pack," in WWE 2K24. The pack featured McAfee, as well as co-hosts Boston Connor, AJ Hawk, Darius Butler, and Ty Schmit. The former punter was thrilled about his inclusion, however, many fans weren't so keen on the DLC, as several "NXT" stars and others on the main roster weren't included in the game in its launch. The DLC was released on July 23 and McAfee responded to the hate on X, calling out the fans who criticized it. He explained that WWE 2K contacted them about being in the game, and he and his friends didn't take anyone else's spot.

"Some of these bumass IWC [internet wrestling community] fans are calling this the worst DLC of all time," McAfee wrote. "That's rude... Very rude."

Many stars within the WWE were quick to release statements, or at least speak out on social media, about former WWE executive Vince McMahon and his alleged conduct following the civil lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant that accused McMahon of sex trafficking and abuse. McAfee was not one of those stars who spoke out against McMahon in 2024 when the allegations arose, but spoke about his former boss back in summer 2022. He commented following the initial Wall Street Journal report that McMahon was under investigation by the WWE board of directors for hush money payments. McAfee's comments came after the former punter interviewed McMahon on "The Pat McAfee Show" earlier that year and worked alongside him at WrestleMania 38 for their match. McAfee said on an episode of his show that he "knew less than everyone else."

"This is just me, I don't know s*** about f*** over there. I go in, do my thing, say hello to everybody, and I'm out," McAfee explained. "I'm in maybe the most awesome situation in the history of WWE for anybody. I'm the long-time fan, a lifelong fan of the company. But I'm not part of anything. I'm part of no groups, I have no locker room. I literally bounce around, do my thing, and I'm out. It's designed to be that way."

The commentator also unknowingly seemed to foreshadow what was coming for his former boss in the future. When asked what he thought would happen next, McAfee commented that there would be "a lot of investigations" and "investigations about the investigations, too."