NFL fans aren’t happy with ESPN heading into the 2026 season.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports announced some big news on Wednesday. Pat McAfee will be joining ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown.” He’ll be working alongside Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce, Jason McCourty and Booger McFarland.
McAfee is excited.
“‘Tis an honor to be a part of MNF in any capacity. I hope I can be an asset as we start the journey to The Biggest Super Bowl of all time in LA on ESPN and ABC College GameDay on Saturday.. Monday Night Countdown on Monday.. I’m the luckiest man on Earth. Football has been so good to me and my family.. I will try my best to continue to give back to it. We started this show in the basement.. no agent.. no publicist.. no manager.. no PR firm.. just a love of sport and it’s people. So thankful for it all and for all of you who have followed along with this absurdly dumb life. The Fall Football Tour starts in Baton Rouge on September 5th.. Let’s GOOOOO,” he shared on X.
Not everyone is happy, though.
In fact, some fans are growing so tired of McAfee, Stephen A. Smith and others, that they won’t be watching anything ESPN-NFL related in 2026.
NFL fans plan ‘boycott’ of ESPN
“I love Scott, Jason & Marcus but I can’t watch this especially after letting Ryan Clark go to add McAfee!! Character is everything to me!!! This preshow is a heck no!! BOYCOTT!!!” one fan wrote.
“Boomer helped me fall more in love with the game. But, I refuse to support this guy. I love ya SVP; it’s not you, it’s him. Stuart Scott is rolling in his grave,” one fan added.
“This will be a boycott for me now! Omg you remove Ryan Clark & add this guy? I say boycott the pregame!!” one fan added.
“ESPN is just Stephen A. Smith, Pat McAfee, WWE shilling, massive layoffs, nonsensical takes, and the streaming app not working,” one fan added.
“Everything about ESPN has gone down the drain. I’m like 4 seconds from taking my fantasy league off their platform and boycotting!!!” one fan added.
NFL fans have made it clear where they stand heading into the 2026 season.
