Pat McAfee's Primetime ESPN Special Had Disappointing Viewership
ESPN's last-second Pat McAfee move reportedly wasn't a ratings success.
The network missed out on more playoff basketball when the New York Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. With no Game 5 to air on Wednesday, May 27, ESPN instead broadcast a special episode of The Pat McAfee Show. McAfee interviewed several league commissioners, ESPN reporters, and star players such as Matthew Stafford and Tyrese Haliburton in a "State of the Union" event for sports.
According to Sports Business Journal's Austin Karp, McAfee's special drew only 278,000 viewers on ESPN. That doesn't include the over 132,000 views the full two-hour episode has generated on YouTube, as of Tuesday.
It's a far cry from the audience ESPN could have netted with playoff basketball. Approximately 7.2 million viewers watched the Knicks blow out the Cavs two nights earlier.
McAfee extension talks
The special's underwhelming ratings don't appear to offer any indication of McAfee's standing with ESPN.
According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, ESPN and McAfee are discussing an extension that would make him the company's highest-paid personality at over $60 million per year. The former Indianapolis Colts could receive even more airtime and potential for more NFL coverage under the new contract.
McAfee has two more years left on his current deal. Along with his daily weekday show, the 39-year-old is a College GameDay panelist and hosts alternative broadcasts, including one for Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.
The "State of the Union" event also didn't reflect his recent ratings trends. Karp reported that McAfee's ESPN and YouTube viewership last month increased 25 percent from the same time last year.
If anything, McAfee's special magnifies how much networks rely on live sports to command the attention of a fractured audience that has an abundance of entertainment options. But perhaps the ratings will deter ESPN from trying another similar event in the future.
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 6:21 PM.