User:Follower52/Pat McAfee

How Pat's Life Has Changed The Game of Football
Pat McAfee, a former NFL Punter for the Indianapolis Colts, found a home in digital media with his own Podcast, "The Pat McAfee Show". Project Pat, a mountaineer out of the college of West Virginia, was drafted by the Colts in 2009 and played in a Superbowl his first year of his career. He played a great career and retired in February of 2017. Pat has a lot of former and current players on his podcast that include AJ Hawk, Aaron Rodgers, JJ Watt, and co-host Darius Butler. As early as 2020 right when Pat McAfee's show was introduced, he changed the game. According to James Bingaman an international journalist in sports communication states, “McAfee (1.8 million followers), who has more than twice the Twitter followers as the AFL (720,000 followers), advocated for Australian football not only on his Twitter but on his other media platforms including YouTube and his podcast (Negrepontis, 2020). While his discovery of the game and subsequent commentary was quite entertaining for fans back in Australia, as a marketing strategy, it worked wonders in the United States, especially with McAfee essentially operating as a celebrity endorsement. The effectiveness of athletic endorsements as a marketing strategy is well established (see Kim & Cheong, 2011). Chen, Lin, and Hsiao (2012) note that the pairing of an athlete endorser and sporting event can influence attitudes toward those sporting events. As a former National Football League punter, McAfee is seen by fans as an expert in the skills needed to kick an oval-shaped football—the fundamental method of passing in Australian football. McAfee’s endorsement served as a legitimization tool, meaning Australian football was no longer a late-night oddity; it was a proper form of football ." (Bingaman 2020). Although McAfee alone cannot single-handedly make Australian football popular in the United States, his social media advocacy, that continued well after the suspension of the AFL season, bypassed traditional news outlets”. I think this quote is good to use because it shows how Pat Mcafee can have many different roles within digital media in sports. He is talking about the AFL when he has more followers than the actual sport. Promoting the sport on his new and ongoing show from 2020 leads to help him improve and get even more fans and endorsements from other sports and companies.

Relationship with Players on Show
Within Pat McAfee's show a lot of players including A.J. Hawk ,Aaron Rodgers, and Darius Butler have become very open and comfortable when coming on his show. Aaron Rodgers for example, would never go to Fox Sports and open up about his career path to the public like that, instead, Aaron goes onto McAfee's show and is comfortable and confident explaining his next career decision as he exits the darkness retreat he was in. Sidney Guerrero in "Aaron Rodgers Uncertain About Future With Packers." states “Chances are, the National Football League world hasn't seen the last of Rodgers in a Packers uniform, but Rodgers' comments Tuesday on "The Pat McAfee Show" aren't helping ease the anxiety of some Green Bay fans hoping to see No. 12 again next season.” This quote helps me explain how crucial the Pat Mcafee show is and how it helps other NFL athletes feel comfortable talking on shows from a former player instead of the media. Mcafee makes athletes very comfortable coming on his show including current and former athletes just like Aaron Rodgers here.

Another New Podcast to have Multi-Year Deal on ESPN!
“Pat is a proven talent," ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in the statement. "He and his team have built 'The Pat McAfee Show' into one of the most engaging programs in sports and all of media. It's a destination for athlete interviews and breaking news, and the centerpiece of a growing community of sports fans. We're honored to bring Pat and the show to ESPN through a multifaceted, multiplatform approach." This quote explains so much about Pat, Pat is a player turned fan and changes the game. He changes the game consistently and gets ESPN a big crowd when he is on his show. McAfee also will continue his analyst role on ESPN's "College GameDay" and host alternate broadcasts of ESPN's college football telecasts.

Pat "Money" McAfee
Pat was one of the highest paid punters during his 8 year career. McAfee the seventh highest paid punter during his tenure was one of the best and continues to put punters on and was always the talk of the town. “As the seven highest-paid punter, each with a salary of at least $2 million, had a negative EPA in the aggregate; just two of the seven (Pat McAfee and Kevin Huber) had substantially above-average seasons.” This adds information to Pat McAfee's already legendary career on the playing field as a player and a media mentor.