Pat McAfee explains the reason for his WWE absence.
Pat McAfee has become WWE’s regular commentator for its weekly shows and premium live events since 2021. Still, there have already been times when he couldn’t attend some shows to spend time with his family, and during college football seasons, which is why his recent absence is one that fans wondered about, as it’s not connected to either.
The former NFL punter was last seen with the commentary team at the 2025 Money in the Bank. SmackDown’s commentator Wade Barrett covered for his absence on the first week, then NXT’s Corey Graves has been with Michael Cole since then. However, McAfee has finally broken his silence about the matter.
On the recent Pat McAfee Show, the commentator addressed his absence by saying that he was just exhausted from commentating and shared that people in WWE have been looking out for him, which he is thankful for.
Continuing to just like kinda catch up on life as a whole. Post-Money in the Bank, pre-Night of Champions…was getting pretty exhausted there. So shout out to everybody at WWE for looking out for me too. Very, very thankful.”
Pat McAfee 😍 #WWERaw#PatMcAfeepic.twitter.com/ImZ7H836EP
— JonnyLeTran5 (@JonnyLeTran5) May 13, 2025
Pat McAfee Reportedly In Talks To Start A New Project Outside WWE
Aside from being a RAW commentator and the host of The Pat McAfee Show, the former NFL star also serves as an analyst for ESPN’s College Gameday program. Interestingly, recent reports have shared that he might be going solo.
According to The Athletic, Pat McAfee, who only has two years left on his College Gameday contract, has “mused with associates” about starting an independent version of College GameDay. However, since he still has time left on his ESPN contract, it probably wouldn’t happen immediately. It’s also unclear if he would move The Pat McAfee Show off ESPN as well.