ESPN Employees Upset About The Pat McAfee Deal
Bringing Pat McAfee to ESPN seemed like a no-brainer for Jimmy Pitaro, but that doesn’t mean the deal won’t have consequences.
ESPN employees are reportedly upset that Disney opted to give McAfee an eight-figure deal in the midst of widespread layoffs at the Walt Disney Company.
“Too Soon”
Just weeks after ESPN was hit by the company’s second wave of job cuts, the Worldwide Leader in Sports announced that it was hiring McAfee away from FanDuel, where he had a $120 million contract.
“Too soon was the reaction I got from a few friends. Some that were let go are still working there until June,” one ex-ESPN employee said to Front Office Sports.
ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro. Photo: Disney
During the second wave of Disney’s cuts, ESPN was hit particularly hard. Among the respected names that were let go were John Dahl, who was the executive producer of The Last Dance, and Mike Soltys, the company’s second-longest tenured employee.
“You are coming to grips with your departure, and then you see a big money signing. It’s not anti-McAfee…it’s your ex getting engaged a month after the breakup,” said one former ESPN employee.
Photo: Yahoo Sports
The Haves and the Have Nots
According to former ESPN star Howie Scwabb, the gap between ESPN’s top-end talent and the rest of the network’s employees is causing tension.
“There are some people who are upset. The timing of it is curious. They’re paying [Troy] Aikman, [Joe] Buck, Stephen A. Smith, and McAfee. And then you’re going to lay people off? Kind of weird,” Schwab said.
Photo: NY Post
“Nothing against Pat McAfee. Obviously, he brings Aaron Rodgers to the table. He’s already there because he does ‘College GameDay.’ They’re looking to hit another home run. Meanwhile, their single hitters are going to be fired.”
Pitaro and ESPN knew that the optics of signing McAfee during the company’s continuing layoffs were less than ideal when they made the deal.
Photo: Bloomberg
With that being said, the ESPN president and his team have decided that, in the case of McAfee at least, the pros outweigh the cons.
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