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Pat McAfee Says He’s Got No Chance at MNF Gig

“McAfee has already been featured on ESPN’s college football coverage, working one game a week, also contributing to College GameDay.”

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We’ve expected it for months, but it’s been officially reported that ESPN will have s new Monday Night Football crew this fall.

Without Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland in the booth, a number of candidates have been rumored to fill the void. ESPN has been desperate to lure Peyton Manning to their Monday Night Football booth in recent years, but continue be unsuccessful in their efforts.  If The Worldwide Leader in Sports can’t land the legendary Indianapolis Colts quarterback, would they settle for the punter?

Pat McAfee says no chance in hell.

The former Colts punter has been one of those rumored candidates to join the booth and is mostly considered a long shot. On Sunday, McAfee made those rumors seem like an even lesser possibility, when he offered his honest opinion. 

“Although I believe it’s a massive honor & I’d be able to help figure out how to make #MNF MUST WATCH TV for the right reasons again.. there isn’t the slightest chance in hell that I get offered that job,” McAfee wrote on Twitter. 

His rawness and honest opinions are exactly why fans would love to see the former NFL punter in the MNF booth. McAfee has already been featured on ESPN’s college football coverage, working one game a week, also contributing to College GameDay. His unfiltered style would certainly be an intriguing pairing with ESPN and the NFL for their Monday Night Football coverage. But McAfee could also be viewed as a risk, which is poor timing for ESPN who’s desperate to bring stability to their MNF booth. 

Since letting Mike Tirico join NBC, ESPN’s MNF coverage has been a revolving door of announcers led by Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten and Booger McFarland. 

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

Earlier this week, however, host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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