Opinion

DeMarco: Pat McAfee Is One Of The Good Guys

Greg DeMarco, one to often disrupt the babyface/heel/hero/villain dynamic, discusses one of the true good guys–Pat McAfee, and his new deal with FanDuel.

Published

4 years ago

December 10, 2021

Chairshot

Greg DeMarco, one to often disrupt the good guy/bad guy/babyface/heel/hero/villain dynamic, discusses one of the true good guys–Pat McAfee, and his new deal with FanDuel.

Thursday was a landmark day for Pat McAfee, sports media personality, pro-bowl NFL punter, WWE Smackdown color-commentator, and former WWE NXT superstar. While the deal didn’t go down on Thursday, it was announced that day that Pat McAfee had signed a new deal with FanDuel for what he called “an absurd amount of money” to bring his show (and, presumably, brand) further under the FanDuel umbrella for a period of at least three years (the deal is for four, with an opt-out after three). According to The New York Post, the deal is worth $30 million per year, which indeed meets the “absurd” adjective used, and likely changes the sports media industry.

Remember, The Pat McAfee Show is a YouTube show that also airs on Sirius XM satellite radio. But if you’ve ever listened to it, you know they don’t really focus on the radio feed at all, oftentimes missing breaks (the show still cuts away, sometimes mid-sentence) and only ever really pushing the YouTube channel. McAfee himself has said it’s because Sirius doesn’t tell them how many people are even listening, whereas YouTube gives him detailed analytics.

Those details are trivial, what’s important here is that Pat McAfee just signed a deal with FanDuel for $30 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR for his YouTube show. Has anyone else, in any industry, signed that much for a YouTube show?

I like to look at things through a different lens, and you will see tons of people reporting on this deal. I have a simple topic here: Why?

What makes Pat McAfee, and more importantly his entire brand, so attractive to FanDuel? The answer is quite simply, really. He’s one of the good guys.

Sources: The Pat McAfee Show and FanDuel have agreed to terms on a new deal, ensuring that FanDuel continues to be the exclusive sports book of the show. It’s a 4-year, massive deal that includes an opt-out after three years. 💰💰💰

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 9, 2021

Pat McAfee Is A Real Person Who Happened To Make It

Many celebrities will try to brand themselves as just like you or me. But that’s simply a lie–many of them aren’t. Maybe they were at some point, but fame and money can change a person. Yes, Pat McAfee keeps a private jet, lives in a huge house and has tons of money. But the person hasn’t changed. He’s still down to earth, authentic, and oftentimes at awe of the the life he leads, one he calls “stupid” at least once per week.

That makes him relatable. Which is why his audience sticks around. Authenticity is a big thing, something you’ll see again later in this article. Pat McAfee is definitely that.

Pat McAfee Knows Exactly Who He Is

Pat McAfee is a millionaire in at least eight different industries, a story he tells from time to time (and one he made part of his storyline with Adam Cole). No, I can’t list them all, but obviously we can count football, podcasting, merchandise, gambling, wrestling–that’s five right there.

But here’s the thing: I am not even sure he graduated from West Virginia (he hasn’t referenced graduating from what I have heard), and by his own admission he’s never read a book in his entire life. He doesn’t pretend to be smart, but he does surround himself with smart people. He will routinely tell you, on his show, that no one needs to hear him discuss certain topics (politics, medicine, legal matters, etc), yet shys away from nothing. That’s bold, and fortune favors the bold.

Pat McAfee Isn’t Afraid To Go After Something

You don’t get all of the opportunities that have come the way of Pat McAfee on accident. You have to be driven to succeed, and not be afraid to ask the question–shoot your shot. McAfee has obviously done that. He had no problem leaving a major brand like Barstool to create his own thing. It obviously paid off–no one can say he was wrong to bet on himself with that one.

Now, if you haven’t watched the video at the top of this article, you might want to. That will help you understand the next point.

It’s a roughly $30 million per year deal, industry sources say. 💰 https://t.co/dd9ZbPlqmv

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 9, 2021

Pat McAfee Appreciates Everything He Has

Watch the video. Pat McAfee appreciates every bit of this “stupid” life he leads, and he gives back. He’s often doing huge giveaways, but there are so many examples just from Thursday that point to his level of appreciation:

He immediately donated tons of money to two foundations that are set up by Peyton Manning and Robert Mathis–players who have appeared on his show when they don’t often make appearances (Mathis even did so in studio).
He made his parents millionaires on the spot.
He gave each person working on his show a bonus of $250,000. A quarter of a million dollars. When he signed his first FanDuel contract, he gave them each $50,000. Cash. In a backpack. Hand delivered to their house.
He’s doing a social media giveaway for his followers–listeners of his show–totaling $1.5 million. They made him what he is today, and he’s giving back.
He let NFL insider Ian Rapoport reveal the deal itself, and the length; he let Shams Charania report the financial side of the deal. Why is that important? Both appear on his show weekly–for free. McAfee is smart enough to know this info will get out, so he might as well make sure those reports will benefit those who have stuck with him.

These are just examples from Thursday. Former players have come on his show to promote a venture, and will reveal that McAfee financially helped them start it–and Pat will get mad that they revealed it.

Bold.
Driven.
Authentic.

The three words above appear in this article about Pat McAfee. That’s no accident. Those three words jumped out at me when I took a new job in February 2019, after my prior company went belly-up and laid all of us off. The three words define how I live my life, and fully apply to McAfee. Now, that company has also been sold and had no problem laying me off 4 days after they found out about my leukemia diagnosis.

There’s a reason why Aaron Rodgers, who hates the media, goes on Pat McAfee’s show each week. Why AJ Hawk appears on a daily basis. They like the person behind it all. It’s not favoritism in this case, it’s the same authenticity that created a crazy engaged fanbase. FanDuel doesn’t offer $120 million dollars (over four years) and build a whole to a show that topped out at 175,000 viewers one time (for their NFL Draft special) for no reason. Those numbers aren’t worth that kind of money, unless a great portion of those viewers–exponentially higher than the industry averages–are engaged and participating. Obviously, McAfee’s is.

This is no accident. Good things can happen to good people, and Pat McAfee is one of the good guys.

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

3 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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About Chairshot Radio Network

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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

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Classic POD is WAR

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

2 months ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1