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After spending 8 seasons in the NFL as the punter for the Indianapolis Colts, Pat McAfee retired to start a career in broadcasting and began the Pat McAfee Show under the Barstool Sports umbrella. He took the show out from under the umbrella a few years later and it has steadily grown since then. He’s begun announcing games at the collegiate and professional levels. During this time he incorporated a small business, which also controls his charity, The Pat McAfee Foundation. He has even appeared in matches for the WWE. McAfee has never shied away from an opportunity to grow and do things outside of his comfort zone building quite the loyal following along the way.
Pat McAfee inked a substantial contract with the sports betting app FanDuel towards the end of 2021. The Pat McAfee Show is one of the largest sports podcasts around and attracts millions of viewers and listeners making it a very attractive prize for advertisers. FanDuel and McAfee agreed to a 4 year 120 million dollar contract to make FanDuel the show’s exclusive sports bettor. While Pat McAfee is best known for his career as a top punter and his larger-than-life personality, it is perhaps time he became known for his charitable side.
McAfee, who is no stranger to charity work, wasted no time to take some of that well-earned money and find ways to help others with it. He gave his parents a million dollars after signing the deal. He also used some of the money to give each employee of Pat McAfee Show a 250 thousand dollar bonus. On top of the money he gave to his parents and employees he donated another 6 million to various causes such as, youth programs, children’s hospitals, and to assist domestic violence organizations.
A special recipient of McAfee’s charity has been his hometown of Plum, Pennsylvania. About a week before the FanDuel deal was finalized he donated 2 million dollars to his old high school and its athletic department. Talking about his hometown he said, “I am so lucky I grew up in Plum. Hardworking people, great people, and the greatest sandwich shop in the world – Rudy’s Subs.” Earlier in 2021 he helped save the local bowling alley, Nesbit’s Lanes, that he spent time at when he was growing up.
Their GoFundMe surpassed its 100-thousand-dollar goal thanks to a donation made by Pat McAfee personally of 20 thousand, and another through his charity, The Pat McAfee Foundation, of just under 16 thousand. When asked about helping save Nesbit’s Lanes, he was quoted saying, “Nesbit’s is a staple of the Plum community,” following that with, “I’ve had the privilege of bowling there, hanging out there, and using their parking lot in times of need in high school.”
One could go on and on about Pat McAfee’s lengthy track record when it comes to charity, but that would take far too long. While many marvel at the phenomenal career he’s had it may be time to start recognizing him for his charity with the same awe. He’s done a number of amazing things in his life, but his work through The Pat McAfee Foundation and his charitable work beyond that is the most amazing to me. Pat McAfee is a prime example of someone who embodies the charitable spirit we love to see here at Volutaryism In Action.
