Pat McAfee responds to smoking while presenting his show live on ESPN
Pat McAfee responds to smoking while presenting his show live on ESPN
Joseph McBride Fri, September 18, 2026 at 7:37 PM UTC
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Pat McAfee has responded after a video of him smoking went viral -Credit:2026 Aaron J. Thornton
ESPN host Pat McAfee has responded after being called out for seemingly smoking during Thursday's edition of his live weekday show.
McAfee was seen with a lit cigarette of an unknown substance and using an ashtray while live on ESPN, with viewers claiming it was a marijuana joint despite the fact that recreational and medical marijuana are completely illegal in Indiana, where the show is filmed.
The ESPN host has seen his schedule become even busier this NFL season, with McAfee joining Monday Night Countdown in addition to his College GameDay duties and daily weekday shows. Earlier this week, McAfee detailed his first meeting with Taylor Swift, and he's now responded to the latest backlash. It comes after Terry Bradshaw snapped at his FOX NFL Sunday co-star after being humiliatingly corrected live on air.
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Fans were convinced that McAfee was smoking marijuana on the show, and a video went viral across social media. While some fans called out McAfee and ESPN, others defended him, sparking a heated debate.
"ESPN used to have class, what happened?" one fan wrote on X. "I’m not mad at it, but a long list of people not named Pat McAfee would probably be punished/fired for this," another added.
A fan then showed support to McAfee, posting, "Good for him, man. Yall need to chill out." Another noted that it's his studio and show, adding, "Good for him, he can do what he wants really."
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Still, because the McAfee video was viewed over 1 million times, the ESPN host decided to speak out during Thursday Night Football. McAfee claimed that it was sage he was smoking, posting an explainer as the Buffalo Bills beat the Detroit Lions.
"Little sage never hurt nobody…," McAfee wrote on X. "Also this Buffalo Bills team came out on fire in their new home.. just smokin the Lions in all phases. Josh Allen’s numbers this year might be Biblical. Is this the year Buffalo wins the whole damn thing?"
Mirror US Sports has reached out to ESPN for comment.
McAfee is one of the biggest sports personalities on television, and makes roughly $30 million per year when factoring in all of his agreements. In June, it was reported that McAfee was in talks over an extension worth up to $65 million.
The new deal would add more NFL duties to his schedule, with McAfee now on Monday Night Countdown for the 2026 season. McAfee is expected to play a significant part in ESPN's Super Bowl coverage in February.
McAfee is now on his own ESPN show, College GameDay, and Monday Night Countdown -Credit:ESPN
McAfee isn't the only ESPN employee negotiating a new deal, as the network and Joe Buck have agreed to a six-year contract extension worth around $108 million. Buck is the voice of Monday Night Football, along with Troy Aikman, in the booth.
Buck has now been re-signed, but Aikman's deal is set to expire at the end of this season. However, Aikman has no plans to leave ESPN, and talks are expected.
It comes after a lip reader exposed what furious Taylor Swift cried out after being shown on the ESPN cameras again.
Source: “AOL Sports”
