Pat McAfee pledges $1 million to WVU's NIL collective while visiting Morgantown
By Sam Fariss
Almost every college football fan in the country knows who Pat McAfee is.
From his outrageous personality on his own ESPN segment, The Pat McAfee Show, to his outlandish takes on ESPN's College GameDay, McAfee has made quite the name for himself.
However, not many football fans realize where McAfee started.
McAfee was born and raised in Pennsylvania but attended West Virginia University, where he was the Mountaineer football team's punter.
Since becoming one of the more recognizable icons in sports television, McAfee has proudly boasted his WVU roots.
This week, ahead of the Mountaineers matchup against the No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions, McAfee returned to Morgantown to host The Pat McAfee Show where it all started:
How about this for foreshadowing?#WVU legend Pat White will join Pat McAfee live in Morgantown tomorrow afternoon. He did the same thing 16 years ago on the "first" edition of the @PatMcAfeeShow.
— Gold and Blue Nation (@GoldAndBlueNtn) August 29, 2024
Flashback ⤵️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/5l4qLvbpPw
Between riling up the crowd, hyping up the football team, and being his usually loud and boisterous self, McAfee made a more sentimental move than most fans are used to.
McAfee announced that he and many of his former WVU teammates had amassed $1,000,000 to donate to West Virginia's NIL Collective.
We wanna say thank you to West Virginia..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 30, 2024
I will be donating $1M to the West Virginia NIL Collective from the entire team I played alongside..
I was VERY lucky to be on that team and this is from ALL of us #WVUPMSLive pic.twitter.com/nsqPwbVuip
WVU hasn't made a splash in the NIL scene over the past few seasons but a $1 million boost to revenue is certainly a way to set out on the right foot.
After his time with the Mountaineers, McAfee went on to an impressive eight-year-long career in the NFL, playing for the Indianapolis Colts.
McAfee never followed the coaching route that many former players strive for. Instead, he joined Barstool Sports and eventually, once he had left Barstool, created his own sports media company: Pat McAfee Inc.
In 2018, McAfee made his television debut on Fox Sports and just a year later, signed his first-ever contract with ESPN.
Alongside joining ESPN, McAfee has since dabbled in WWE professional wrestling.
While McAfee is currently in Morgantown, the College GameDay crew will be in College Station, TX for the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies game against the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
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