For the most part, NFL punters have a thankless job.
Because of their occupation, they rarely see the field, aren’t well known, make the news for all the wrong reasons, and typically don’t get paid much.
That wasn’t quite the case with Pat McAfee.
We are Pat McAfee days away from a Colts regular season kickoff! #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/K89frVLYx6
— ColtsFanCole (@ColtsFanCole) September 10, 2022
After getting selected in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, McAfee’s outsized leg and personality were hard to miss.
He quickly became a fan favorite for his sense of humor, strong leg, and quirky personality.
After his career nearly derailed due to alcohol, McAfee got back on track and became a two-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro with a hefty salary.
Then, when he was only 29, McAfee retired and began a second career in sports media.
In 2018, he decided to start his own radio show, and within a few years, McAfee was hired by ESPN as one of the biggest television personalities in the business.
This is the unusual story of Pat McAfee.
Pennsylvania Native
Patrick Justin McAfee was born on May 2, 1987, in Plum, Pennsylvania.
Happy birthday to All-Pro punter Colts alum PAT MCAFEE. The season preceding his retirement, @PatMcAfeeShow averaged 49.3 yards per punt. And he may be the greatest onside kick-er in history! 👍🏈 pic.twitter.com/3QHrchxJzk
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) May 2, 2022
Before he became a big deal on the gridiron, McAfee played soccer, his favorite sport.
Years later, McAfee would explain that he attracted attention from colleges as early as his freshman year.
“When I say I was a pretty good soccer player, I was a pretty good soccer player,” said McAfee on his show in 2020. “I got the chance to travel the world and play soccer. I had a cannon of a leg, obviously. I didn’t have great cardio because I was built like a spark plug my entire life.”
In his sophomore year, McAfee entered into a local Punt, Pass, and Kick competition and performed so well that he eventually won a national title in the event.
When McAfee returned from the competition, the football coaches at Plum High School asked him to try his leg in football.
Pat McAfee has donated $2 million to Plum high school's athletic department, his alma mater 👏
(📸 Pat McAfee IG) pic.twitter.com/7VnizNvJHe
— Sportskeeda Pro Football (@SKProFootball) December 4, 2021
According to McAfee, the coaches at Plum didn’t care if he attended practices, they just wanted him to show up for games.
“I would literally show up sometimes and walk in with the fans,” said McAfee. “My first couple of games I had no idea how to put on the pads. I would have a soccer game on Friday afternoons and my mom would drive me over to the football stadium and I would walk in and meet the team on the field for warmups.”
In his first game as a high school football player, the snapper sent the ball over McAfee’s head on a point-after attempt.
McAfee ran back and scooped up the ball, eluded the entire defense, and scored an accidental two-point conversion.
He continued playing football for Plum as a kicker and punter and was involved in a few trick plays resulting in touchdowns.
Illegal Poker Winnings Nets McAfee a Scholarship
As he neared the end of his senior year, McAfee didn’t have a lot of interest from colleges despite being rated the top kicker in the nation by Scout.com.
He was promised an opportunity to kick at Penn State, but then the Nittany Lions backed out and offered the scholarship to someone else.
Kent State was the only other school that offered him and McAfee took the deal.
A short time later he heard about a competition being held in Miami where the best prep kickers in the nation were assembling to try out in front of college coaches.
McAfee knew he had to be at that competition.
The only problem was he didn’t have the money to go.
Fortunately, McAfee had a cadre of friends from every walk of life and one of his buddies tipped him off to an illegal poker game he could play in.
To get a seat at the table, McAfee borrowed $100 and played like a seasoned pro.
Here's a story of how a $100 loan and a night of poker made Pat McAfee's career!
Thank you @PatMcAfeeShow for taking the time to join us on @GamblingPodcastVideo credits @nflthrowback @seantgreen @KramerCentric pic.twitter.com/PaphKA8p6V
— Adi Hisham (@adi_mohtar) July 12, 2022
By the end of the night, he was $1,400 richer and immediately bought a plane ticket to Florida.
McAfee marched into the competition like he owned the place and proceeded to put on a clinic.
Beginning with a 25-yard field goal, McAfee did not miss, even banging home a 65-yard try.
He then attempted a 70-yarder, but the ball missed wide right, though it had the distance.
Former NFL punter Louie Aguiar was helping out at the event and told McAfee he had a future.
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but you’re going to do big things,” said Aguiar.
McAfee returned home and attended school the next day.
While eating lunch, someone tapped him on the shoulder and McAfee turned to find Tony Gibson extending a hand.
Gibson, the recruiting coordinator for the West Virginia Mountaineers, had been at the competition in Florida and was astounded by McAfee’s leg.
He had a scholarship offer ready for the kid to sign.
It was an easy decision for McAfee.
“If I’d ended up at Kent State,” McAfee said in 2017, “who knows if I’d even have kicked and punted? It’s crazy how things played out.”
Mountaineer
McAfee hit the ground running in 2005 as a freshman for the Mountaineers.
Coach Rich Rodriguez named him the starting kicker and punter and McAfee responded with a 61.1% field goal percentage on 11 of 18 attempts and made all but one of his extra-point tries.
"Hello Mountaineer Land! I'm Pat McAfee, your kicker and punter."@PatMcAfeeShow#TBT | #HailWV | #ForTheBrand | #Boomstick pic.twitter.com/xlr0PGhlz4
— West Virginia Football (@WVUfootball) October 31, 2019
On October 15, West Virginia hosted Louisville and the close contest went into overtime after McAfee nailed a perfect onside kick attempt late in the game.
Running back Steve Slaton then scored the game-tying touchdown.
After three OTs, the Mountaineers prevailed.
West Virginia went 11-1 that season and then 11-2 in 2006 when McAfee made 17 of his 22 field goal attempts and all of his extra point tries.
Feeling the Pressure
During his junior year, the Mountaineers were playing well and so was McAfee.
By the end of the ‘07 season, he would make 68% of his field goals and all but one of his extra points.
Those numbers brought McAfee accolades such as the Scott Shirley Special Teams Player of the Year Award from the Mountaineers’ coaches, recognition as a Lou Groza finalist, and second-team All-Big East honors.
With WVU sitting at 10-1, the team took on the Pitt Panthers in the Backyard Brawl Series on December 1.
The game went in Pitt’s favor, 13-9, after McAfee missed two chip-shot field goals and WVU was no longer considered for the BCS title game.
Just like that, the Mountaineer faithful turned on their colorful, lovable kicker.
When he returned home, McAfee’s driveway was littered with broken beer bottles, his yard was torn up, and he received death threats.
On the 15-year anniversary of “13-9,” the Backyard Brawl is back. And so too are the nightmares from Dec. 1 2007.
An @SINow Daily Cover | The scars of “13-9”
“It was a terrible f*cking night,” says Pat McAfee. “I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore.”https://t.co/xljQNMP6i7 pic.twitter.com/tIlxemNnit
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 31, 2022
Upset about letting down his teammates and fans, McAfee climbed into his vandalized vehicle and started driving.
“My life changed immediately that day. It was a terrible f—— night, to be honest with you,” McAfee said. “It was like something out of a movie. I just drove. I got all the way to Virginia through Maryland. I was gone for a couple of days. I drove, parked, slept and kept driving. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know where I was headed. I didn’t know what was coming next. And I didn’t know if I wanted to live anymore.”
While McAfee was contemplating suicide, Rodriguez was contemplating a new job with the Michigan Wolverines.
Weeks after the Pitt game, the coach accepted the Wolverines’ offer and suddenly McAfee was no longer enemy number one.
“I don’t know if it took the target off my back and put it on him,” said McAfee, “but I do remember, like people telling me, like actually telling me around campus, ‘I hated you for it all until Rich went to Michigan.’ I’m like, ‘O.K., thanks. I appreciate that!’”
Senior Year
McAfee eventually returned to campus.
He played in 2008 for new coach Bill Stewart and drilled 17 of his 20 field goal attempts for a career-best 85%.
McAfee was also perfect on his extra-point tries.
After the regular season, the kicker was named a first-team All-American.
40 days till the Backyard Brawl!
🌟 For The Brand Edition 🌟
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#40 Pat McAfee K/P (2005-08)
Most Extra Point Makes in WVU History
First Team All-American 2008
Indianapolis Colts (2009-16)
First Team All-Pro 2014 (Colts)
2x Pro Bowl (2014,2016) pic.twitter.com/0xJB2B10lm— Beerbongs and Bentleys™️ (@D4kToTheFuture) July 23, 2022
During his career in Morgantown, McAfee made 58 of 79 field goal tries, (a 73.4% success rate), 210 of 212 extra points, and averaged 43.7 yards per punt.
When he left the state, McAfee rarely returned to West Virginia, still smarting from the treatment he received in 2007.
“It’s tough. I let down a lot of people. Do you want to pop back in and go to a place where you literally made every human there miserable and upset? That’s not my vibes,” McAfee said. “I let down basically everybody I care about—my family, myself, my teammates, my coaches, everybody who’s invested time in me at West Virginia.”
McAfee Becomes a Colt
After his final game as a Mountaineer, McAfee was invited to play in the Senior Bowl.
He wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine but did have private workouts with the Cowboys, Colts, and Patriots.
While working out for Indianapolis, the organization’s special teams coach, Ray Rychelski, was not cordial.
“I have two other kickers I want,” McAfee recalls Rychleski telling him. “I don’t want to be here, but Bill Polian made me come.”
That completely turned McAfee off on Indy.
“After that workout,” McAfee recalled, “I said to myself: Anywhere but Indianapolis.”
Dallas acted like they wanted him, then took a different kicker in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Just before the 222nd selection in the seventh round, McAfee’s phone rang.
In the 7th round of the 2009 #NFLDraft, the Indianapolis Colts selected punter Pat McAfee. #KohlsLegacy pic.twitter.com/16LbAeZt8d
— Kohl's Kicking Camps (@KohlsKicking) April 23, 2018
It was the Colts.
“The last time we drafted a punter, it was Hunter Smith and he lasted 10 years with us,” Polian told him. “We hope to do the same with you.”
Still stunned that Indy had selected him, it took a few moments before McAfee realized that Polian wanted him to punt.
After all, they already had Adam Vinatieri, one of the best kickers in NFL history.
The news sparked McAfee into action and the next day he and his father headed to the nearest football field.
“We had to figure out how to friggin’ punt,” McAfee said.
Super Bowl
He may not have wanted to play for the Colts initially, but as he spent time with his new teammates, McAfee realized he was with a very talented organization.
Quarterback Peyton Manning was a legend.
Manning handed off to running back Joseph Addai and threw darts to Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Pierre Garcon.
The defense had Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis as part of an eighth-ranked unit.
McAfee averaged 44.3 yards per punt and was also used as a kickoff specialist who made the occasional tackle or two.
Indy posted a 14-2 record and advanced to Super Bowl XLIV against the New Orleans Saints.
February 7, 2010: The Saints beat the Colts 31-17 at Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
pic.twitter.com/7CdD4lftWt— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) February 7, 2023
The Colts were overmatched by the Saints Cinderella story and lost, 31-17.
For his work that season, McAfee was selected for the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
A Drunken Stupor Turns McAfee’s Life Around
McAfee always did know how to have a good time.
In college, he and his roommate hosted teammates and fans for a preseason barbeque at their house every August.
Imbibing was a favorite pastime for McAfee and he did his best to show the locals he was one of them.
Becoming a pro football player didn’t change him one bit.
During the 2010 season, McAfee was out and about, drinking the night away with fans at the Broad Ripple area in Indianapolis.
Pat McAfee turned being an NFL punter into a $30 mill podcast contract largely on the basis of a misdemeanor charge for getting drunk and naked and swimming in a canal in 2010 lol https://t.co/2IkENt9893 pic.twitter.com/xEtJnTt4Lj
— Chris OIIey (@chrisoIIey) December 9, 2021
He bought several rounds of tequila for the patrons at a bar before leaving the establishment.
“I wanted every single person in the bar to have a shot,” he said.
After a quick dip in a nearby canal, McAfee sat shirtless in a parking lot when police arrived.
When the officers asked him how much he had to drink, McAfee was honest.
“A lot ’cause I’m drunk,” he replied.
He was taken to jail where McAfee called his dad.
The elder McAfee heard where his son was and hung up on him.
It wasn’t until hours later that he was released from jail and McAfee headed to Colts headquarters.
Polian, then the team’s president, told the punter he had been fined and suspended.
Jeremy Kapinos punted 1 game for the Indianapolis Colts, replacing a suspended Pat McAfee in 2010. https://t.co/LsTetZbDJy pic.twitter.com/a0wktlEyWT
— ColtsFanCole (@ColtsFanCole) February 3, 2024
After finally arriving home, McAfee realized he needed to change.
“At that moment, I just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear,” he said.
He paid the fine, served his suspension, and submitted to drug testing and counseling as part of the NFL’s substance abuse program.
“If it wasn’t for that evening, I certainly wouldn’t be in the NFL right now,” McAfee said in 2016. “I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with how I was living and still perform at a good level.”
Vinatieri also offered his teammate advice on how to take better care of himself.
The result of both interventions led to a 42-yard average in 15 games.
Pro Bowl and a Big Raise
McAfee kept himself on the straight and narrow, realizing that another misstep could cost him his dream job.
For the next few years, his punting average improved, including reaching 47.9 yards per punt in 2012.
McAfee being McAfee, however, he still found himself in the news for an embarrassing error in judgment.
In January 2014, McAfee was in the Indy locker room and took a picture of Vinatieri getting interviewed.
He didn’t realize quarterback Andrew Luck was in the background of the picture almost completely naked.
When the photo hit the internet, and sports fans pointed out the gaffe, McAfee profusely apologized and was fined.
Although he was embarrassed by the mistake, the Colts knew what they had in McAfee and re-signed him to a five-year deal worth $14.5 million before the 2014 season began.
He rewarded their decision by being named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in September.
Then, during a game against the Houston Texans in Week 6, McAfee saw that the middle of the field was open as the Texans players were expecting a deep kickoff.
Happy birthday to the always entertaining Pat McAfee 🐐 @PatMcAfeeShow @Colts
(h/t @nflthrowback) pic.twitter.com/YErN3uIaNI
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) May 2, 2021
When he approached the ball, McAfee squibbed the kick and had so much room that he ran 10 yards, turned, and waited for the pigskin to reach him, converting his third successful onside kick attempt of the year.
After booting a 47.6 yards per punt average and reaching 70.0% on touchbacks on his kickoffs, McAfee was voted to his first career Pro Bowl after the season.
Unexpected Retirement
By 2015, McAfee had more than endeared himself to the Colts’ faithful.
He had a terrific sense of humor, played his position like it was the most important part of the game, dove headlong into tackles after kicks and punts, and gave back to the community.
LEGEND: This video gets me teary-eyed every time I see it, legendary Indianapolis #Colts punter and entertainer Pat McAfee helped provide a car to a military family after he heard their vehicle broke down earlier that week, while at the same time also surprising the family with… pic.twitter.com/wOAaiB0kv7
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) August 31, 2023
One of his philanthropic contributions was for Locks of Love.
McAfee sported a long mullet for much of his career, but he would cut his hair and give it to children who were suffering from illnesses such as cancer.
On the field, McAfee had 87% of his kickoffs go for touchbacks in 2015 and averaged a career-high 49.3 yards per punt in 2016.
The Pat McAfee highlight reel will never not go crazy💥
#Colts #ForTheShoe #ForTheBrandpic.twitter.com/sfl57A82mo
— Naptown Talk (@naptowntalkpod) August 3, 2023
That average brought McAfee his second Pro Bowl.
Then, early in 2017, McAfee announced he was retiring.
He shared in an interview that team owner Robert Irsay was supportive of his decision.
McAfee added in 2018 that then-general manager Ryan Grigson was unhappy with an Instagram post of McAfee standing in the team locker room, which led to a heated discussion and the punter’s decision to leave football.
Whatever the cause of his decision, McAfee’s choice to step away from football at 29 years old really came down to his knees.
“Staring down my third knee surgery in four years, with more knee surgeries certain for the future, (injuries were) definitely a part of (my decision),” McAfee said of abruptly retiring. “My knees have really taken a beating. For the last half of the season, I couldn’t really walk much on days that I kicked. I would stay in bed and ice my knees. I felt like a 90-year-old man. Going into work I was like, ‘There has to be more to work than kicking balls.’”
Career Stats
During his career, McAfee averaged 53.1% on touchbacks, 46.4 yards per punt, had 25 total tackles, and was one of two for pass attempts on trick plays.
He was voted to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, was a two-time Pro Bowler, and a first-team All-Pro once.
Second Career
When McAfee announced his retirement, he also shared that he was set to become the COO of the Indianapolis headquarters of Barstool Sports.
It was a partnership that was months in the making.
“When Barstool Sports approached me about the potential of joining their family whenever I’m done with football, I told them, ‘I might be done sooner than most think,'” said McAfee in 2017.
During his two years with Barstool Sports, he also hosted the Pat McAfee Show on Sirius XM satellite radio.
In 2018, McAfee left Barstool and started Pat McAfee Inc (PMI).
The organization ran his charity, The Pat McAfee Foundation, and started four podcasts.
Not only did McAfee wax poetic about football, but he also talked about hockey and pro wrestling, one of his favorite pastimes.
"I can't believe I'm about to say this..
Fighting Kevin Owens was harder than fighting Floyd Mayweather..
Wrestling is the hardest thing that I've ever done in my life and I take it very seriously"@LoganPaul #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/hgpgVe1hZe
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 5, 2024
In 2019, McAfee’s following had grown to the point where ESPN reached out and hired him to be an analyst for Thursday Night Football.
Three years later, ESPN hired him to be an analyst for College Gameday, and by 2023, the Pat McAfee Show was airing on the network.
The program has been a hit with McAfee appearing highly caffeinated and, usually, wearing a tank top while talking shop.
The best thing about the Pat McAfee show is that he constantly wears a tank top, so you can see his muscles pic.twitter.com/B7qvhaJQHa
— Holdin’ Cauliflower (@PapaFazuul) October 17, 2023
His regular co-hosts include former NFL linebacker A.J. Hawk, former Colts teammate Darius Butler, and former coach Chuck Pagano.
McAfee and his wife, Samantha, married in 2019 and the couple gave birth to a daughter in May 2023.
References
https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/pat-mcafee-1.html
https://www.si.com/college/2022/08/31/west-virginia-pitt-backyard-brawl-returns-daily-cover
http://www.wvustats.com/sport/football/player/2609?Award_sort=award
https://wvusports.com/sports/football/roster/pat-mcafee/6566
https://www.colts.com/news/why-did-pat-mcafee-retire-18531799
https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/pat_mcafee_career_retrospective/s1__38063719
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1546075-pat-mcafee-is-a-must-re-sign-for-the-indianapolis-colts
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/pat-mcafee/
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/McAfPa44.htm
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