From the moment Pat McAfee signed his lucrative deal with ESPN, questions swirled about whether he would fit into the network’s traditional culture. And he made sure to turn heads pretty early on. In October 2023, McAfee was unhappy with a New York Post story about how much he paid Aaron Rodgers to appear on his show over the years and directed his anger at ESPN. “All the suits at ESPN that told [the New York Post] to write this article to make us look bad. your time is coming.” To cap it off, he made a gesture with a two-word directive: “Suck it,” familiar to many pro wrestling fans. McAfee was not going to hold back and that was clear.

There have been envious eyes cast in the direction of the former Indianapolis Colts punter perhaps due to his lucrative $85 million 5-year deal and how ESPN has allegedly given more leeway to his College GameDay show. There have also been allegations that McAfee has been allowed to play hard and fast with the network’s rules when it comes to his journalistic style. McAfee in 2023 speculated on the exit of Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams linking it with an FBI raid that may or may not have happened. Again, this didn’t go down well with a lot of ESPN employees, given how they handle sensitive off-the-field issues. However, Stephen A. Smith, one of the longest-tenured employees of the network, has dismissed accusations of double standards.

Talking to CNBC’s Alex Sherman, Smith addressed the notion that ESPN is biased toward McAfee. “No, [I don’t understand the irritation]. I think they’re being immature. And I love my colleagues. We have a great team at ESPN and I’m not speaking against any individual But understand the business. But, understand the business, Pat McAfee is not an employee of ESPN. They basically bought his product, and they said they leased his show, and it’s his baby — that’s what it is. His stuff is on ESPN, but he is not employed by ESPN. So, if you’re not an employee, you operate under different rules.”

ESPN has maintained the stance they have no creative control over McAfee’s show. However, the show is licensed to the network, and McAfee appears on College GameDay every Saturday during the college football season. ESPN employees have grumbled about McAfee’s contract and reports that he paid Aaron Rodgers over $1 million to appear weekly on his show.

A Washington Post report from 2023 stated: “The report of the payments was gossiped about by ESPN colleagues because of the gaudy amount and also what it might mean should another ESPN show want Rodgers to appear. There could be an element of professional jealousy involved but, more broadly, the question that came up most among ESPN staffers is what, exactly, are the rules for McAfee?”

McAfee for his part has not backed down when it comes to taking a swing at those who he believes have come after him. Last year in January, he publicly attacked longtime ESPN executive Norby Williamson, accusing him of “trying to sabotage” him by leaking information to reporters.

A New York Post article in early 2024 reported that McAfee’s show had seen a steep decline in viewership after the lead-in by Stephen A. Smith’s First Take. “Since the inception of McAfee’s show on ESPN in the fall, Stephen A. Smith and ‘First Take’ are handing McAfee a 583,000 viewer lead-in, and McAfee is maintaining just 302,000, which is a 48% drop,” the article read.

McAfee went after Williamson alleging that he was the one behind leaking information to the reporters and in April he departed the organization.

Meanwhile, Smith asked those criticizing McAfee to look at the bigger picture and how he has shown everybody a way to do things differently.

“To me, what I think people at ESPN who are critical of Pat McAfee are missing is that he opened the gates for us to be able to do that. I’m incredibly appreciative for Pat McAfee’s presence on the air. And I don’t think Pat McAfee realizes how appreciative I am of what he’s brought to the table. He’s opened the floodgates to a potential level of freedom we never knew existed at the Worldwide Leader until he arrived,” Stephen A. Smith stated.

The blueprint set by McAfee is one that has inspired Stephen A. Smith. In his decades of doing media, he never thought such leeway would exist. With his inclination to be something beyond the confines of sports, the First Take analyst feels grateful to his colleague for opening the pathway to achieve that.

Smith is himself looking to emulate McAfee and drive up his value before his next ESPN contract.

His current contract, which expires in July 2025, nets him $12 million annually. He has been offered a deal of $18 million per year reportedly but Smith’s agency, WME, is trying to compare Smith to McAfee’s total package. Notably, ESPN pays McAfee $17 million per year, but Puck’s report stated that McAfee earns close to $30 million for his services which include licensing his show and his appearances on College GameDay.

But as mentioned before, at this point in his illustrious career, money isn’t an influential factor for Smith. He wants the openness to explore as McAfee has with his show.

Stephen A. Smith wants to be more than just sports

Since the media opened up the avenues for podcasts, Stephen A. Smith, an opinionated individual hasn’t hesitated to bring his loaded takes to a world beyond sports. His Stephen A. Smith show is where he presents his candid self talking about issues around the world. And as far as his contract with ESPN, he insists that it be the deciding factor for an extension.

“The aspiration for me is to be in Pat’s position to a large degree. It’s never going to be the case with First Take. But it’s damn sure gonna be the case with everything else if I’m gonna remain at ESPN, because I have other things that I wanna do. And I don’t wanna hear from them, oh, we don’t want this. We don’t want this,” he told Sherman.

In recent years, Smith has made appearances in the political sphere. Notably, during the latest presidential race, ESPN’s headliner appeared on shows such as NewsNation to provide his spin on the race. Smith has also pondered on the idea of possibly being a presidential candidate in the future.

His role in such shows impressed those in the concerned circuits. Furthermore, even ESPN is supportive of Smith’s willingness to grow to something bigger. According to the LA Times, a representative of the company said “Stephen A. has his own podcast/show outside of ESPN where he dives deeper into topics that are more than just sports, and we support him with that, and will continue to do so given his interests in growing outside of the sports realm”.

The new contract may still be lucrative and it would be well-earned for a man of Smith’s stature. But the bottom line is the ability to hold creative freedom in his independent projects.  And it seems the media giants aren’t willing to risk losing their top personality over his request to branch out.