WWE Friday Night SmackDown color commentator and former NFL punter Pat McAfee is reportedly in talks with Amazon to contribute to their coverage of the 2022 NFL season via Thursday Night Football. The New York Post reported on Thursday that the two sides are in negotiations but nothing has been finalized. Amazon acquired the rights to TNF after the games had been on FOX from 2018-2021 and the company has signed on Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit to call the games. The report doesn’t indicate what McAfee’s role would be.ย
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McAfee has been working as the color commentator for SmackDown’s Blue Brand since April 2021. He competed in a pair of matches at WrestleMania 38 earlier this month, defeating Austin Theory before getting beaten up by Vince McMahon in an impromptu match.ย
“Last night was a dream come true. Last night was the time of my life. Last night…I should have been undefeated at WrestleMania, but I got bamboozled. There was no way that was a sanctioned match. I’m undefeated at WrestleMania,” McAfee said on The Pat McAfee Show while reflecting on WrestleMania ย He then broke character to say “Absolutely thankful for everybody and everything. Austin Theory, he’s a good kid. He’s on his way. I was very fortunate to be in there. There was some cool stuff that took place at WrestleMania. Shoutout to everybody on the internet that gave me a lot of love. I can’t thank you enough. It was a fucking dream and you guys are the best.”
McAfee talked about the match with Busted Open Radio back in late March, saying at the time, “I feel like the creative and conversation get pooped on a lot outside of WWE. Going in, I assumed that everything was going to be impossible. I’m a super creative person, I enjoy everything my brain thinks and the way I operate. I’m very lucky to be where I’m at in life financially and professionally. I thought I was going in there and it was going to be tooth and nail trying to get everything done. I haven’t experienced that at all.
“I know other people haven’t had the exact same results, but I’m also not 100% sure that people have what I’m bringing to the table as well,” he continued. “That gets lost in a lot of the conversation. If you don’t like what’s going on, you can leave. I did that to the NFL, I did that to Barstool, a couple different places. Freedom is something you earn, it’s not something you’re given. I’m very fortunate to be at that particular spot. The people I’m working with for this match are awesome. We’re going to put together a classic, we’re going to try out best at least, to do WrestleMania some respect.”
