Tempers flared in an explosive argument in a recent phone call between two of ESPN’s highest-profile personalities.
The Post has learned that a private conversation several weeks ago between Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith got heated, as things escalated to the point where McAfee called Smith a “motherf–ker”.
The dispute arose from creative differences involving a yet-to-be-announced project that Stephen A. Smith is executive producing through his own production company, Mr. SAS Productions, that will ultimately air on ESPN.
The Post heard that in the aftermath of the spat, Smith had banned McAfee from appearing on “First Take”, where he had weekly Tuesday appearances during the football season, in the future.
However, after The Post reached out, both sides indicated that their animosity has been resolved.
McAfee said he wasn’t aware of any ban and Smith insisted there never was one.
An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
“I have nothing but love for Stephen A.,” McAfee told The Post in a text message. “I think I’m still welcome on ‘First Take’? I was scheduled through football season to join on Tuesdays, hopefully next year that’ll happen as well.”
“Pat McAfee and I have no issue and the notion that he’d be banned from ‘First Take’ is B.S,” Smith told The Post in an email.
“We are No.1 and he has absolutely contributed to us remaining No.1. McAfee was asked to come on each Tuesday through the Super Bowl and he did just that, kicking ass each time he came on the air.
“If McAfee wants to be on ‘First Take’ next season, he will be on ‘First Take’. I love winners and McAFee has proven he wins — which helps ME win. I don’t know how many times I have to tell folks that he’s trail-blazed a path into a new era for so many of us. I’m grateful to have him as a part of my team and the ESPN Family. And I’m looking forward to having him on for years to come. I sincerely hope that I will not have to repeat myself on this nonsense again!”
McAfee also told The Post that Smith’s comments on Barstool’s “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast about him “did not bother me at all”.
On the show, which was taped during Super Bowl week and aired the following week, Smith made comments in which he made racial comparisons with McAfee.
“I love Pat McAfee, love him to death. I love his swag; I love the fact that he’s an honest brother. He don’t give a s–t … That’s my kind of dude,” Smith said. “That works for me. Now, is he as polished politically as me? Nope, because he has no desire to be number one. And number two, if we’re being honest, he’s white, and I’m black; he doesn’t have to be. I had to be. So I get all that, and I’m not knocking him for it.”
On his own podcast later that week, Smith clarified the remarks, saying that he meant them to be about white and black talents at ESPN in general.
McAfee signed a five-year deal to license his show to ESPN for about $85 million, and on his own podcast Smith acknowledged “pocket watching” the deal.
“I support him and his show. The more successful they are, the more successful I become. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” Smith said.
“One of the greatest things that ever happened to somebody in my position is Pat McAfee and his show coming to ESPN and them getting paid. Because you set the market. Some people will call that ‘pocket watching.’ You damn right. We all do it. But it’s not to lament what somebody else is earning. It’s to applaud them and thank them for what they’re earning because I turn comps.”
McAfee, who is also a WWE color commentator, carries himself in a manner that somewhat resembles “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s persona during the promotion’s fabled “Attitude Era.”
He is unwilling to bow to authority, especially not to figures he does not respect.
The Post reported that from September through December of 2023, McAfee’s show was losing 48 percent of its “First Take” lead-in and was down 12 percent year-over-year compared to “SportsCenter” in the same time slot.
McAfee accused longtime ESPN executive Norby Williamson of leaking the ratings, which are tabulated by Nielsen and made available to many networks and advertisers.
McAfee alleged that Williamson was seeking to “sabotage” the show and called him a “rat”.
Perhaps no other talent in ESPN history would have been able to get away with this, but McAfee was not disciplined — and the network has since put out multiple press releases touting the success of his show, adding digital numbers on YouTube, X and TikTok to linear TV metrics to illustrate its reach.
Shortly after the Williamson spat, McAfee posted a photo at a Colts game with Burke Magnus, the ESPN president of content who collaborated with network chairman Jimmy Pitaro and Disney CEO Bob Iger to bring him into the company.
In a recent appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast, McAfee doubled down on his remarks and called them a “warning shot”.
He did not specifically name Williamson, but disputed the idea that the executive could be considered his “boss.”
“I report directly to Jimmy [Pitaro] and Bob [Iger],” McAfee said on the show.
“I saw [media reporting] ‘Pat calls out his boss.’ I don’t got a motherf–king boss. What are we …? We talking Jimmy Pitaro or Bob Iger? Like, is that who we’re talking about? Because those are people that could technically be described as my boss.”
He said that Williamson “no-showed” a scheduled meeting with him for 45 minutes in his office several years ago, and once blocked ESPN talents from coming on his show before it was affiliated with the network.
“That guy was not a fan of me — or our operation — for a long time,” McAfee said.
He later acknowledged that his main regrets over the remarks concerned how they created backlash for his “allies” in Magnus and Pitaro, and that he was “very apologetic” for that.
