ESPN is in talks to serve up even more Pat McAfee on “Monday Night Football” this season.A McAfee “Monday Night Football” alt-cast is on the horizon if the league grants ESPN approval, according to sources briefed on the move, who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.The potential for a McAfee “Monday Night” alt-cast comes after Wednesday’s official announcement that McAfee will be a panelist on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown,” adding to his duties that already include his daily talk show and “College GameDay.”The new roles are part of McAfee’s negotiations with ESPN that The Athletic reported in June could end up being in the $60-65 million per year range. The two sides are basically going down a checklist of points and, when they are agreed to, they are beginning immediately.Peyton and Eli Manning’s alt-cast will remain unchanged regardless of how the NFL rules on the McAfee broadcast. The brothers will be on ESPN2 for ESPN’s opener between the Broncos and Chiefs on Sept. 14th. Peyton’s Omaha Productions have a long-term deal with ESPN into the 2030s.
If the NFL approves, McAfee and his team would likely do games on ESPN2 in the weeks when Mannings aren’t on. The Mannings are scheduled to analyze 12 games plus the Super Bowl this season. McAfee could do as many as around eight games, though the exact number is not yet known.With Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on ESPN/ABC each week, the network has wanted to have more consistency with its ESPN2 alt-casts as the Mannings are not on each Monday, creating a bit of confusion for viewers.If the alt-casts go through, some Mondays during the season McAfee could be on ESPN or ESPN2 for around seven hours.The league requires approval for all alt-casts. In some cases, it just approves, while it can also ask for an added fee. ESPN pays around $2.7 billion a year to the league. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is said to be a fan of McAfee, evidenced by Goodell’s appearance on McAfee’s program.McAfee has done alt-casts for years, including on the College Football Championship. He has had free rein to roam the sidelines. The NFL has generally been more restrictive on letting non-game personnel near the field than college so it is possible, if the league approves, the McAfee alt-cast looks a little different than the college ones.McAfee’s best performing alt-cast was on New Year’s Day in 2025 when he and his team earned 2.4 million viewers for the Ohio State-Oregon game.
