The knives are well and truly out in the latest round of the ESPN layoffs. This time around, a number of personalities lost their jobs, including Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark, former NFL MVP Cam Newton, and longtime insider Tom Pelissero. An internal memo explained that the cuts were meant to address redundancies after ESPN acquired NFL Network earlier this year.
As the ESPN layoffs went on, attention turned to Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith due to their massive salaries. McAfee, in particular, bore the brunt of criticism, but on Wednesday, July 22, he had had enough.
Pat McAfee Draws Line In the Sand Following Criticism After ESPN Layoffs
The argument McAfee’s detractors made was that his program was supposedly gobbling up a large chunk of the budget, whereas reporters and analysts who had studied the game and reported on it for years were left in the lurch.
Back in June, The Athletic reported that McAfee and ESPN were negotiating a contract that would have paid his team nearly $60 million a year. Those reports were also dug up and used as ammo as criticism mounted against the outspoken personality.
But on Wednesday, McAfee decided to speak out in what is looking like an omen of what’s to come.
“For as long as I can remember, my mere existence has made people hate my guts. I’ve been writing songs about it for 20yrs & it’s time to let them aht.. A LOT of headlines & narratives.. if I was to die, I’d like my kids to know exactly who their dad is,” McAfee tweeted, announcing that he would be releasing an album of sorts in a month on August 14.
For as long as I can remember my mere existence has made people hate my guts..
I’ve been writing songs about it for 20yrs & it’s time to let them aht.. A LOT of headlines & narratives.. if I was to die, I’d like my kids to know exactly who their dad is.
🗣🗣 AUGUST 14TH, 2026 pic.twitter.com/AqiEVOw1Xh
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 22, 2026
The nature of his announcement also drew criticism, as several NFL fans raised an issue with the use of an AI poster in his announcement, despite having a dedicated team for his show.
On his show on Tuesday, McAfee made his feelings clear on the latest round of ESPN layoffs.
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“We hate any time this happens. Obviously this is terrible. We don’t like that,” McAfee said on his show. “But we are very honored that we are still partnered with ESPN and Disney for the good of sport and the future.”
He also outlined that he saw the criticism coming, since the last time ESPN laid people off, there was plenty of outrage directed at him and his team.
“The first time we licensed the show through ESPN, one of these happened, we got blamed,” McAfee remarked.
“I feel like you don’t fully understand budgets and where things are coming from, but I do appreciate that. This time, we’re getting blamed as well. Which I guess I can understand, but I mean, there’s billions and billions of dollars in these companies, and hard decisions have to get made.
“And we don’t like any of them, and we hope we’re an asset to the company going forward.”
We’ll just have to wait and see what Pat McAfee has lined up for his detractors when he takes the stage, so to speak, on August 14 with ‘The Diary of a Polarizing Figure.’
