Pat McAfee Will Temporarily Leave WWE While He Joins ESPN And ‘College GameDay’

ESPN is bringing an old friend back to College GameDay. On Tuesday night, New York Post reporter Andrew Marchand brought word that Pat McAfee, the former NFL punter who has turned himself into a ubiquitous media presence in recent years, will become a member of ESPN’s Saturday morning college football pregame show.

McAfee has appeared on GameDay in the past and was generally well-received, and now, he’s back in a more permanent capacity. ESPN announced the news on Wednesday morning, which included that McAfee will appear on Get Up! and coverage of the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl.

“College GameDay is one of those shows that is universally beloved. It’s an institution. It’s a Saturday tradition for everybody. From truck drivers to suits and all the folks in between, GameDay is a staple of all of our fall routines,” McAfee said in a statement. “Getting the opportunity to join full time is an absolute honor. I understand the weight that the show holds in the sports universe and I will try my best to somehow add to it.”

This does come with a pretty major downside for professional wrestling fans. In addition to his daily talk show, McAfee has been the analyst on WWE SmackDown in recent years, which he’s parlayed into a few (rather impressive) in-ring appearances. Both McAfee and Triple H announced on Wednesday that due to his role with ESPN, McAfee will have to put his WWE career on pause. The pair made it a point to say that this is not a permanent end to his time with the promotion.

McAfee’s first College GameDay broadcast will be this week when the show heads to Austin for the Texas Longhorns’ matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide.