Pat McAfee Took Not-So-Subtle Shot At ESPN Bet On Thursday
02/05/2024 22:25
Pat McAfee is not shy about pushing the line with his bosses at ESPN.
On Thursday, the topic of ESPN Bet came up on "The Pat McAfee Show." Penn Gambling made headlines back in November when it ended its partnership with Barstool and teamed up with ESPN to create the online sportsbook.
Thus far, ESPN Bet has not performed well, resulting in Penn's stock taking a major hit. McAfee is no doubt aware of this, which is why he cracked a joke when it came time to read an ESPN Bet promo.
"Reports have come back. ESPN Bet has A LOT of room to grow," McAfee said with a laugh.
The entire crew was in on the joke as well, before McAfee played the good teammate and said he was rooting for ESPN Bet to get going.
"Good luck. We're pulling for you. Because we are on ESPN and obviously we're part of ESPN so we would like ESPN stuff to succeed," he added.
This is Pat McAfee laughing at ESPN Bet, saying "ESPN Bet's got a lot of room to grow," and then giving ESPN Bet a pep talk.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 2, 2024
"We are on ESPN and obviously we're part of ESPN so we would like ESPN stuff to succeed."
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Somewhere at the Worldwide Leader, there's an executive (or executives) watching this clip with gritted teeth. McAfee can still be a loose cannon at times, which his fans love but the higher-ups probably do not.
Still, he's good at what he does, and overall ESPN has to be okay with him as long as he produces.