Pat McAfee continues to diversify his career portfolio.
Whether you call yourself a fan of Pat McAfee or not, there’s no denying that the 38-year-old has really carved out a lane for himself. He flipped a punting career in the NFL into a sports media empire, and now, he’s one of the faces of ESPN and a mainstay of the College GameDay cast, all while having the freedom to do whatever he wants on ESPN with The Pat McAfee Show.
McAfee also dabbles in the WWE – both as a commentator and a participant (he’s stellar at both). And recently, the former NFL player really steered off his unexpected course and got into the studio with Ernest. Pat and Ernest first worked together to release a song titled “Dookie,” and the country artist told us here at Whiskey Riff that they busted out eight or nine more songs that are still to come.
When you take all of that into account, it’s easy to wonder how Pat McAfee could do anything else to add to his resume. Better yet, how could the sports personality have the time to do anything else? He’s also married with one kid already here and another on the way. Safe to say Pat’s plate is pretty full… but apparently not full enough to turn down a shot at acting.
According to Bloomberg, well-known talent agent Ari Emanuel has added McAfee to his client list, and his goal is to make Pat the “next Sylvester Stallone.” The former punter has apparently already landed multiple roles in film and television.
One of Pat McAfee’s first roles? That’ll be on the Taylor Sheridan series Tulsa King.
That’s not the only thing he’s got going on, but it is the first thing that fans of McAfee’s will be able to see him in, according to Bloomberg:
“McAfee has a four-episode arc on the upcoming season of ‘Tulsa King,’ the Paramount+ crime show created by Taylor Sheridan and starring Stallone. McAfee has also booked a part in Peter Berg’s upcoming movie ‘The Mosquito Bowl,’ a sports drama based on a book by Buzz Bissinger, the author of ‘Friday Night Lights.'”
Hey… if you want to turn McAfee into Sylvester Stallone, might as well put him opposite of the Rocky actor in his very first role.
And though this news is just now becoming official, Pat McAfee actually broke the news himself on his own show a couple of weeks back. He had Ari Emanuel on his show to talk about the sports and talent agency landscape, and the Emanuel shared that a) he had taken on Pat as a client and b) revealed the two projects he had already worked on:
“He didn’t even mention that I’ve taken on this experiment called Pat McAfee as an actor. I mean, this guy just finished ‘Tulsa King.’ A bunch of episodes. And ‘The Mosquito Bowl.'”
I suppose the media (including myself) just thought that was a bit of a joke?
Obviously, it’s not, and Pat McAfee continues to build his brand – and expand it – to new heights. For those who call themselves fans of McAfee, they are pumped to see him take on this next career challenge. For others, who may have already been complaining about “Pat McAfee overexposure,” get ready to see the punter-turned-actor everywhere you look.
Like when Season 4 of Tulsa King potentially premieres later this year.
