Pat McAfee used his Wednesday show to fire back at people criticizing him over an on-air jab at former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, telling critics he hopes they “rot.”
The dustup started when McAfee called out Kelce for repeatedly saying “we” while discussing the Eagles during the “Monday Night Football” halftime show. The game, played at Soldier Field in Chicago, saw the Bears beat the Eagles 27-7, improving Chicago to 2-1 on the season.
On “The Pat McAfee Show,” McAfee made clear he never meant the comment seriously and said he was being unfairly piled on for it.
“Now, I usually mind my own, but if you thought I was being serious whenever I pointed out that Jason Kelce was saying ‘we’ about the Philadelphia Eagles, knowing who Jason Kelce is, with the Philadelphia Eagles at the ‘Monday Night Football’ halftime, you have no brain, and I think you should just realize that,” McAfee said.
“And I don’t love just the lying and the stuff that happens on my name these days, but just saying stuff to continue to add gas to a flame that isn’t real when you’re in this place and carry as much weight as you definitely do, I think it’s a little bit of a piling on, and I hope you all rot. All of you.”
Before that rant, McAfee also took a shot at what he called “a lot of bums that have microphones in this particular industry,” without naming names.
Kelce spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Eagles, including a Super Bowl win in the 2017-18 season. He retired in 2024 and signed a multi-year deal with ESPN. After McAfee’s original call-out, Kelce apologized on TV for repeatedly saying “we” about his old team.
“A lot of we talk out of Jason for Philly,” McAfee said of Kelce’s comments.
On Tuesday, former ESPN analyst Ryan Clark, who was fired from the network in July during an on-air appearance, defended Kelce in an X post, arguing his future Hall of Fame status earned him the right to still refer to the Eagles as “we.”
McAfee has been a lightning rod in sports media in recent weeks. Last week, he read aloud on his ESPN show an alleged threat against him posted on X, which appeared to reference the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, drawing concern from some viewers.
