Would McAfee be what he is now without us?’ Dave Portnoy addresses if Barstool ‘made’ Pat McAfee

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Over the past several years, Pat McAfee has become perhaps the most high-profile person in sports media and the growing face of ESPN. Before all of that, however, he was at Barstool Sports, and Dave Portnoy seems to think that McAfee has Barstool to thank for some of his success.

While Portnoy acknowledges that McAfee was “supremely talented” and had soaring ambitions, he seems to think that Barstool helped him channel that in the correct way and launch the career he has today.

McAfee At Barstool

After a lengthy career in the NFL, McAfee retired from the league and joined Barstool in February of 2017 where he hosted  The Pat McAfee Show.  McAfee quickly rose to prominence within the organization, but abruptly announced his departure from the company just 18 months later.

While his announcement was mostly positive about his experience at Barstool, he also alluded to some financial decisions that were made without his knowledge that affected him.

“I began being disrespected by the business people in the building. I’ve decided I don’t want to make money for these folks anymore. I’m very proud of the work I did with Barstool,” McAfee wrote in his announcement.

“Financial decisions were being made for me by people I had never met, deals were getting made and pulled without my knowledge,” said McAfee. “The transparency of everything became obsolete, and also very expensive. I do not place any blame or hold any grudge towards Erika [Nardini] and Dave [Portnoy] for this. They’ve been nothing but nice and fair to me. They paid me very well. This is below them. I began being disrespected by the business people in the building. I don’t want to make money for these folks anymore.”

At the time, Portnoy said he understood McAfee’s decision for leaving and even took responsibility for the decisions that resulted in his decision to leave.

“I love and respect Pat,”  he wrote . “I begged him to stay, but he’s got to do what he thinks is right for him. He’s a complex dude and he rightfully lost some trust in some of our business folks. Ultimately, that’s my and Erika’s fault.”

Last month, Portnoy revisited McAfee’s departure and he had a slightly different perspective on it.

“He thought the business side disrespected him, so he felt he had to leave, was his version of events,” Portnoy said of McAfee’s departure . “I think he probably was always going to leave. He’s a super ambitious guy. Super talented guy. But that was the reason he publicly gave—that he couldn’t trust our business side anymore.

“Now, I don’t think our business side did anything wrong. I think he kind of blew it out of proportion, but that is the reason he gave.”

Did Barstool ‘Make’ Pat McAfee?

During a recent appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, Portnoy was asked bluntly, “Did you make Pat McAfee?” Portnoy acknowledged that McAfee had a platform before he ever joined Barstool, but he doesn’t think he would have been as succcessful without his time at Barstool.

“We didn’t make McAfee because McAfee was a punter and very talented,” Portnoy said. “Would McAfee be what he is now without us? Probably not.”

Portnoy brought up McAfee’s ambition of becoming a WWE Champion despite never wrestling before. McAfee eventually did make it to the WWE all on his own, which Portnoy says is an example of his ambition. But he thinks Barstool helped him learn how to use the internet and social media to enhance his career in a way he wouldn’t have otherwise.

“He also went to basically the school of Barstool,” Portnoy said . “We were a very good school at that time on how to use the internet, social media.”

Portnoy said that McAfee’s situation was a matter of “right place, right time” while still being “supremely talented.” Portnoy noted that Barstool has had “tons of people who haven’t become McAfee” despite receiving the same support from Barstool.

“He was the right guy to get the perfect education at the right time,” Portnoy said.

Portnoy went on to speak on what makes McAfee appealing to audiences.

“There’s something about him. He turned down millions to punt,” he said. “He comes to us, makes money, but leaves on his own. It’s kind of like an American success story that he really does push out.”

That said, Portnoy also acknowledged that McAfee isn’t for everybody.

“It’s not like the super highly educated,” Portnoy said of his fans. “It’s kind of like the grassroots. Like, ‘We laugh a lot, we laugh hard, and we’re not even sure if it’s funny,’ crowd.”

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