Since retiring from football in 2017, Pat McAfee has quickly built a second career as a versatile multi-platform sportscaster. But after working as a sideline reporter with the XFL last year, don’t expect the former NFL punter to try that role again.
It seems like a job that would suit McAfee well. Sideline reporters are moreseo on an island as opposed to sitting in a booth or studio surrounded by monitors and producers. McAfee is at his best when he’s off the cuff and unscripted. Combined with the flexibility to contribute when he wants, it should allow McAfee to jampack the report with entertainment.
But last week, during his SiriusXM radio show, McAfee said being a sideline reporter with ESPN for their coverage of the XFL was not for him.
“I’m not trained for this. People go to school for a long time to be good sideline reporters. There’s certain information, there has to be timing, you have to remember certain things. I’m like, this ain’t my f***ing thing, like I’m supposed to be reacting to stuff,” McAfee said before recalling the instructions he was given for the role.
“You have to ask for permission to speak, so we’ll send it to the truck,” he was told. “And the truck will send it there. They’ll give you a yes, then you can talk or whatever. I’m like, okay, that’s not gonna work. That’s just not how it’s going. They’re like, well that’s how this whole thing goes.”
Last year, shortly before the XFL kicked off their reboot season, there was a report by Mike Mitchell for XFL News Hub, claiming McAfee was second guessing his involvement with the league as a sideline reporter. Despite his discomfort with the position, McAfee did start out in the role, but it was short-lived with the season being canceled by COVID-19 after just one month. And after his comments last Friday, it doesn’t seem like McAfee will put himself in that position again.