There aren’t very many punters who have left a big impact on the league and its fans. Pat McAfee just so happened to be one of the most insane placekickers who pulled heartstrings and made fans marvel at his talent. There are very many things that happened in his life that led up to his now-famous show. Let’s go on a journey and uncover the significant parts of this charismatic man’s life.

A Multi-Sport Athlete in Pittsburgh

On the 2nd of May in 1987, Tim McAfee and Sally McAfee gave birth to Pat. The family found no need to move much which is why they stayed in the neighborhood of Plum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pat quickly found his love for physical activities and competition. His passion for sports only grew bigger in Plum High School where he was part of their volleyball, football, and soccer varsity teams.

He had very many strengths but one of them stood out, his insane rocket of a leg. It was very clear that either soccer or being a placekicker in football would be where he’d go. One did have the edge over the other as Pat notched the national Punt, Pass, and Kick championship in just his second year of high school.

A love for gambling led to him to Rich Rodriguez

Pat knew that he was one of the best placekickers in all of the land which is why he really wanted to join the national field goal competition in his senior year of high school. The problem? Well, the competition was in Miami and he did not exactly have the funds to go there because he was a student.

Thankfully, he had a bright idea and an above-average acumen when it came to playing poker. Pat won a total of $1,400 in a game just days before the competition. He got the funding that was necessary for him to go and his performance in South Beach did not disappoint. He started off at the 25-yard line and continued moving back by five yards as he sank nine consecutive field goals. Pat missed a 70-yard kick but then West Virginia coach Tony Gibson saw enough to give him a scholarship offer.

Four years with the Mountaineers

Pat was quick to impress Coach Rich Rodriguez and the West Virginia special teams unit in his true freshman year. He notched the starting job and took off. His numbers clocked in at 70 kickoffs, and 20 touchbacks while only missing seven out of his 18 total field goals. He would also help them to win the Big East and the Sugar Bowl over Georgia.

The same beat happened during his sophomore and junior years. Pat would help West Virginia to win in the Gator Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. He also went on an insane streak where he did not miss a single extra-point attempt for 106 kicks. It was only Western Michigan that snapped his streak after his field goal was blocked. He was included in the second-team All-Big East squad and a member of ESPN’s All-Bowl team too.

Accuracy was the best word to describe his senior season. Pat had 23 punts inside the 20-yard line which led the Big East. He had a career-high with his 44.7 yards per punt average and 2,639 yards total. However, his career story is divulged from the two previous seasons because of the lack of personal hardware in this last year. He could not take home the Ray Guy Award. The Mountaineers were also very close to losing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl but managed to pull through with a 31-30 win over North Carolina.

His college career was then capped off by a Senior Bowl invite in 2009. Pat was even a participant in the College Football All-Star Challenge as he won the kicking contest.

Loyalty to the Colts

Despite all the accolades that he amassed throughout college, Pat could not secure an invite to the NFL Draft Combine. Some squads still took a chance on the West Virginia kicker and hosted him for a tryout. The teams that invited him over were the dynastic New England Patriots, a hungry Dallas Cowboys, and the Indianapolis Colts. As history would have it, he got picked by the Midwestern team with the 222nd selection of the 2009 NFL Draft and stayed there for his whole career.

In just his rookie year, Peyton Manning helped lead the Colts to the Super Bowl and Pat got his chance to shine. However, it was just not their fate to win it all that year as the Drew Brees-led New Orleans Saints stomped them with a 31-17 scoreline.

Pat and the Colts would not get this close to a Super Bowl again as he failed to win a ring in his career. However, he did clock in big numbers from 2009-2016. He recorded 26,669 total yards with his longest punt of 49.3 yards being recorded in his last season. In addition, he also had seven touchdowns and returned the ball for 2,641 yards.

He ended his career with a PFWA All-Rookie Team nod, two Pro Bowl selections, and a First Team All-Pro honor.

There were offers for him to return to the league after his retirement from squads like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But, Pat chose to forego those opportunities to focus on a career after football.

Post-career charisma

It could be argued that Pat had more air time after his career than he did during it. Barstool Sports immediately got him and he started to become a comic who made jokes about his pro football career. This was also the time when the Pat McAfee Show started to air on Barstool Power 85. However, his time with Barstool Sports did not last long because he did not like the fact that the company was not transparent with its operations.

Pat had a plan and executed it after his exit from Barstool Sports. He started Pat McAfee Inc. which was the umbrella company for The Pat McAfee Foundation, The Pat McAfee Show, Hammer Dahn, That’s Hockey Talk, and Heartland Radio 2.0. His business acumen started to kick in as he partnered with DAZN, FanDuel, SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, and Westwood One. This allowed him to get guys like former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi, Mike Rupp, Todd McComas, and AQ Shipley.

He was also building a personal brand alongside all of these corporate engagements. Pat had a short stint with Fox Sports before eventually moving to ESPN where he would often be a commentator for College Game Day. Fans loved him so much that in 2023, he started to cover the Rose Bowl and Super Bowl. McAfee also frequented Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli Manning.

Not to mention, he was also a commentator on WWE where he would start out from NXT to Smackdown all the way to making it to Wrestlemania.

Back to his corporate endeavors, Pat and ESPN eventually agreed on a deal that’s reported to have a value of eight figures. As of the moment, this all adds up to an estimated net worth of $60 million and that number will only grow as he gains more exposure moving forward too.