Pat McAfee has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
McAfee, among 128 other former players, has been named as a Modern-Era Nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
Long before he joined WWE, McAfee played for the Indianapolis Colts from 2009-2016. McAfee, a seventh-round draft pick, was a first-team All-Pro in 2014, and he made the Pro Bowl twice. According to Pro Football Reference, he is tied for eleventh all-time for average yards per punt. McAfee retired in 2017. He then joined Barstool Sports and went on to launch his popular radio show/podcast.
McAfee subsequently commented on the news on the September 20 episode of The Pat McAfee Show.
"I did not deserve that. I did not play long enough to deserve that. Woah, man. How does that even happen. Don’t [vote for me]. Vote for Shane Lechler. This is one of those things, vote for Shane Lechler. This is wild to be on this fucking graphic. Man, that’s wild. Let’s go. Holy fuck. Don’t vote me in, but this is cool to even be acknowledged. Did not play long enough, did not have a big enough contribution to the game, but I am to cover the game every single day since then. If any of these people go in that are representing special teams, I will be fucking pumped about this. This is something I could have never expected. I hope Shane goes in, I hope all the boys go in. What a joke, dude. What an absolute joke. Hey, that’s pretty cool. This is like an interesting thing now because I’ve judged this type of situation in others in the past. I go, did he actually? Or is it because he’s a popular person in the thing? Whatever the case, it’s cool to be on this side of it all. It is fucking awesome and insane. I don’t fully know how to take it all. [Getting in], that would be insane. That is wild, dude. Thank you to whoever put that graphic together and that list together. I obviously do not believe I deserve it, but somebody did and put me on there. Thank you, I appreciate it. That’s fucking cool, that’s awesome. Probably won’t happen, shouldn’t happen, but the fact that the conversation even took place, I appreciate it," he said.
McAfee recently joined ESPN College GameDay, putting his WWE duties on hold. More information is available here.