Photo: Getty Images
Pat McAfee has reportedly reached a massive new deal with FanDuel and immediately donated a large portion to charities.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, a weekly guest on the former NFL punter's Pat McAfee Show, reports the two sides have agreed to a four-year deal with an opt-out after three years to ensure the sports betting company remains the exclusive sports book of the show.
The Athletic's Shams Charania, another frequent Pat McAfee Show guest, reported the deal was worth "roughly $30 million annually," or $120 in total.
Sports business reporter Joe Pompliano reports McAfee immediately donated $6 million of it "to youth programs, children's hospitals, domestic violence."
McAfee confirmed the new deal in a video shared on his YouTube account detailing his donations, $250,000 bonuses for his Pat McAfee Show employees and $1 million to his parents, Tim and Sally McAfee, which can be viewed below.
The popular sports media star is no stranger to making large charitable donations in his post-NFL career.
Last week, the Plum, Pennsylvania native donated $2 million to his high school alma mater's athletic program, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
McAfee graduated from Plum High School in 2005 and was a three-sport athlete, lettering in football, soccer and volleyball, before accepting a scholarship to West Virginia University as a kicker on the Mountaineers' football team.
“I am so lucky I grew up in Plum,” McAfee said on KDKA’s Living Room Sports in June 2020. “Hardworking people, great people, and the greatest sandwich shop in the world – Rudy’s Subs.”
Earlier this year, McAfee chipped in two large donations to a GoFundMe account created to raise money for Nesbit's Lanes, TribLive.com reports via WPXI.
The GoFundMe page set a fundraising goal of $100,000 and finished with a total of $124,298 raised thanks, in large part, to donations of $20,000 and $15,892 made on behalf of "Pat McAfee Inc."
“Nesbit’s is a staple of the Plum community,” McAfee told TribLive.com. “I’ve had the privilege of bowling there, hanging out there and using their parking lot in times of need in high school.”
McAfee also donated $20,000 to 102.5 DVE Rocks Children's Radiothon to benefit UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in September.
McAfee, who now resides in Indianapolis after spending his entire eight-year NFL career with the Colts before retiring in 2017, has stayed loyal to his Western Pennsylvania roots, which includes naming his sports gambling podcast 'Hammer Dahn' after the heavy Pittsburgh accent pronunciation of "hammer down," as well as dropping numerous other Western Pennsylvania lingo throughout his 'Pat McAfee Show' broadcasts.
McAfee, who represented Pittsburgh and won the NFL's 'Punt, Pass and Kick' competition for 14- and 15-year-old boys in 2002-03, also famously recounts the story of Steelers legend Troy Polamalu stopping him from scoring a seemingly would-be touchdown in front of friends and family at Heinz Field by uncharacteristically covering the "C gap" during a fake field goal attempt, with the play instead being audibled into a successful field goal by Adam Vinatieri.