REPORT: The Pat McAfee Show Broke NFL Rules During The 2024 NFL Draft: ‘F— ’em!’

While the NFL advises broadcasters not to reveal picks while covering the NFL draft, Pat McAfee is never one to follow the rules.

Since tips are sometimes spoiled on social media, the NFL instructs its broadcasting partners not to reveal picks during the NFL Draft. ESPN and the NFL Network generally abide by this regulation.

On Thursday night, during Pat McAfee’s NFL Draft show, a number of picks were tipped. The YouTube-ESPN+ feed featured his show’s tipped picks.

With the news that Miami would get the No. 21 overall pick, McAfee’s ‘The Pat McAfee Show Draft Spectacular’ declared right away that he would guess the Dolphins’ selection, and his co-hosts then gave the audience some hints that pointed to Penn State edge rusher Chop Robinson.

Even former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who was a guest on McAfee’s show only for draft night, said Robinson’s name.

As for head coach Bill Belichick, he received plenty of solid reviews for his presence on Pat McAfee’s show. Seeing him in a different light was nice since the 72-year-old will enter the 2024 season without a coaching job.

ESPN’s decision to sign McAfee was the most significant sports media news of the 2023 year.

The popular and charismatic sports analyst has ascended to incredible heights in such a short amount of time since being retired from the NFL.

McAfee’s contract is worth $85 million over five years, a perceived pay cut from the four-year deal at FanDuel that was worth $120 million, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.

McAfee also maintained exclusive creative control over the material for his show thanks to his new contract with ESPN. ESPN has 230 fully produced shows a year to promote, and McAfee’s show will be seen by even more people thanks to ESPN’s higher viewership than FanDuel.