Could Aaron Rodgers make more than one triumphant return this NFL season? Pat McAfee seems to think so.
McAfee remains hopeful the New York Jets quarterback will return to his popular ESPN show this season.
Rodgers was a weekly guest on McAfee’s eponymous program through the end of the 2023-24 NFL regular season, but his comments about Jimmy Kimmel on the show drew widespread criticism.
McAfee spoke at ESPN’s media day in Bristol, Connecticut, on Wednesday, raising the possibility that the four-time MVP could resume his regular performances on Tuesday.
“I think it’s going to happen eventually,” the former NFL player said of Rodgers’ potential comeback to ESPN.
Pat McAfee (L) said he is optimistic Aaron Rodgers (R) can return to his show
“There’s a good chance you’ll see Aaron again on Tuesday, but he’s very busy right now.”
“If that’s the case, I would consider it a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to continue the conversation about a comeback story for a four-time MVP in a city that has been searching for a win forever, ever since Broadway Joe (Namath) showed up and made the promise (before Super Bowl III) and a team with a huge fan base.
“That story, going with him this season, would be amazing, and it’ll probably be in every Aaron Rodgers documentary 10 to 15 years from now. I imagine a lot of our clips would be in there.”
During an episode of The Pat McAfee Show in January, Rodgers suggested that Kimmel’s name would appear on the list of associates of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“There are a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who hope that list doesn’t come out,” he said. The Jets quarterback later denied suggesting Kimmel was on the list, however.
After his initial comment, Rodgers said on the McAfee Show, “I totally understand how serious an accusation of pedophilia would be… so I understand why he’s upset about that.”
McAfee spoke out about the outrage at the time, claiming the former Super Bowl winner was “just talking nonsense to Kimmel.”
And on Wednesday, the former NFL player turned media personality acknowledged again that he and the rest of the crew had to deal with the fallout carefully.
Rodgers appeared weekly on the ESPN program until January 2024
“Last year, when everything went like this, we all thought, ‘Now we have to put it behind us, we move on and look to next season,’” he told reporters gathered at ESPN’s Bristol campus.
McAfee acknowledged that he was criticized for not being sufficiently resistant to some of Rodgers’ calls, but the risk clearly outweighed the reward for the host.
“Every time he steps on the field, you get a chance to listen to a man who is going to be a Mount Rushmore in football history,” he said.
“I’ve heard people in the business world say that I don’t fight back. I’m just there to introduce to the world a man who hasn’t spoken to the media much for 13 years.’
The former NFL kicker’s wildly popular YouTube show was licensed to ESPN in 2023, but remains on YouTube, with portions of it also being simulcast on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
McAfee was responding when one of the approximately 50 journalists at ESPN Media Day asked him whether his show should be held to “journalistic standards.”
“I felt like there was some kind of calculated attack on me and my show because we are so different and we don’t adhere to journalistic standards,” he said.
“We don’t have any journalism school people on staff. I didn’t do anything with an agent. I negotiated the deal myself. So those are two powerful groups that are potentially completely removed from my operation. […] A lot of legitimate people that I had a lot of respect for before all this started made me look like a complete asshole.’
The quarterback appeared to suggest that Jimmy Kimmel was on Epstein’s list
“I understand that you may have a lot of reasons to potentially hate me,” he added. “I think they’re misplaced. I would appreciate it if you would give me and my guys a chance. I think we help the sports media as a whole in the future.
“I think we’re going to do some things wrong and we apologize for that. But when you’re going to call us names and try to kill us, I think ‘journalistic standards’ are definitely problematic. We want to be good for sports in sports media. We want to build sports. And we would appreciate it if you just gave us a fair chance.”
Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon that sidelined him for the rest of his career with the New York Jets, just four snaps into the season opener.
The quarterback is expected to return to the field for the Jets’ Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football on Sept. 9.
And if McAfee’s wish comes true, Rodgers could be seen on another ESPN program in the near future.