Topline
Controversial New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has pocketed over $1 million for his weekly appearances on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, the host Pat McAfee confirmed to the New York Post, revealing for the first time Rodgers receives compensation for his spots perhaps best known for his misleading musings on Covid-19 vaccine safety and treatment.
Aaron Rodgers has been making a pretty penny for his oft-controversial podcast appearances.
Key Facts
“Aaron has made over $1,000,000 with us, for sure,” McAfee told the Post’s Andrew Marchand, adding Rodgers “deserves much more than what he’s gotten for the time and effort he has put into” the show.
Rodgers receives seven-figure payments annually from McAfee in exchange for his Tuesday appearances on his show, according to Marchand, who also reported Alabama’s head football coach Nick Saban receives similar payments for his regular appearances on the show.
ESPN, which began airing McAfee’s show last month, declined to comment to Forbes on the nature of these payments, though the Post indicated McAfee, not the network, pays Rodgers and Saban.
Key Background
Rodgers, the 28th-highest-paid athlete in the world, according to Forbes’ estimates, has arguably made the loudest waves on the Pat McAfee Show by using it as a vehicle to spread his Covid stances. In 2021, Rodgers confirmed for the first time on the Pat McAfee Show he was not vaccinated against Covid, also revealing he took ivermectin to treat his infection, a treatment not approved to treat Covid and considered potentially dangerous by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just this week, Rodgers suggested he wanted to debate Kansas City Chiefs tight end and Pfizer spokesperson Travis Kelce to a debate on vaccine safety, with presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his corner and former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci in Kelce’s. The 39-year-old Rodgers, a four-time recipient of the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, is likely out for the 2023 NFL season due to an achilles injury sustained during his September debut for the Jets. Rodgers announced on the Pat McAfee Show in March that he planned to play for the Jets in 2023, ending rampant speculation about his future following 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Big Number
$85 million. That’s how much ESPN will pay the former NFL punter McAfee over five years to bring his show to the network, according to the Post,
Surprising Fact
The Pat McAfee Show brought in 242 million total views across ESPN, ESPN+, YouTube and other platforms during its first four weeks under the ESPN umbrella, the network announced last week. The show’s audio version was ESPN’s most popular podcast in September with five million views, according to the network.
Further Reading
New York PostPat McAfee pays Aaron Rodgers millions for his exclusive interviews
