Pat McAfee Crushes 'The Athletic,' Rightfully Suggests That No One Reads The 'New York Times' Property

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ESPN personality Pat McAfee isn't afraid to speak his mind, even if it ruffles some feathers. It turns out, many fans don't like McAfee. But, he doesn't care because he makes a ton of money. This weekend, he took aim at a property that doesn't make a ton of money: the New York Times-owned sports website, The Athletic.

The Athletic posted a poll about McAfee's presence on one of ESPN's signature shows: College GameDay. According to their poll, 49% of respondents said they "don't like" McAfee on the show. Thirty-percent of respondents said they liked McAfee and the last 21% said they don't have an opinion.

Side note: have an opinion, people. If you don't have an opinion on the topic at hand, don't respond to the poll.

McAfee responded to the poll on X (formerly Twitter), saying that he doesn't know anyone who actually reads The Athletic. Thus, the results don't matter to him because anyone who does read the publication isn't someone whose opinion he takes seriously.

Love or hate McAfee, this is a funny -- and probably correct -- point of view.

"I’ve never been friends with a human that reads The Athletic so I’m not 100% sure what style of human these 3100 folks are," McAfee wrote.

McAfee also hinted that he might not be on College GameDay following this season.


To the 49%, I have some great news.. I have heard you all very loud and clear since the beginning of my stint with GameDay. It’s one of the biggest reasons why I have not resigned a contract with the legendary show. I’m not right for some crowds and the “distinguished” College Football folks are definitely one of those. Excited to enjoy the rest of this year, that’s shaping up to be a GREAT one, and then see what the future holds.

This is fascinating for a few reasons. Going after The Athletic makes sense. It's owned by the New York Times, so Americans can't fully trust anything that the outlet reports. That includes a poll like this.

Plus, as mentioned, The Athletic makes no money. Why? Because McAfee is right: virtually no one reads the website. Charging people for content that no one wants is a bold strategy. A terrible strategy. But still bold.

The New York Times owns The Athletic, which has lost a lot of money for the newspaper company. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

The New York Times owns The Athletic, which has lost a lot of money for the newspaper company. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

The second piece, though, is that McAfee recognizes that his style doesn't always jive with what ESPN wants College GameDay to be. Very few broadcasters would admit they care about that, so this is refreshing from McAfee.

I understand that his style isn't for everyone. In fact, most OutKick readers don't seem to like him.

That's OK.

But, at least acknowledge that he is honest with the audience.

In this day and age, that's rare. Especially for people who don't go along with the prevailing narratives in this country. Which, McAfee frequently goes against.

At the very least, he's earned some respect.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.