Aaron Rodgers Returns To 'The Pat McAfee Show' Despite The Host's Claims
By Afouda Bamidele on January 11, 2024 at 4:45 PM EST
Pat McAfee still has a soft spot for Aaron Rodgers despite kicking the NFL star off his Tuesday broadcast.
Just a day after the sports analyst announced Rodgers's departure from his eponymous podcast, the athlete made an unexpected comeback to show. As long as he is not spouting controversial comments about Jimmy Kimmel and Jeffrey Epstein, McAfee appears to enjoy the quarterback's take on sports.
Aaron Rodgers Is Back On Pat McAfee's Show To Talk About Sports
Thursday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show" captured the host addressing the bombshell news that rocked the NFL world. Renowned coach Bill Belichick shocked many with his retirement as the New England Patriots coach after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl wins.
Belichick's retirement resonated deeply with McAfee, and he didn't mind going back on his word to have Rodgers off his show. In his opening monologue, the sports analyst introduced the New York Jets quarterback as "the last human that Bill Belichick talked to on the field as the New England Patriots' head coach."
Rodgers' team had faced off with the Patriots in Foxborough, emerging victorious with a 17-3 win. Despite being the best source to address Belichick's retirement, it seemed McAfee didn't get his team's approval for the athlete's return as an audible "What!" echoed in the background following the NFL star's introduction.
The shocked reaction didn't faze Rodgers, who noted he was in "off-season" mode somewhere in the woods. He also addressed Nick Saban's retirement after 17 years as Alabama's coach, stating he was shocked the icon stepped down given his incredible achievements.
It remains unclear if Rodgers' appearance is a one-time gig or if he is back on McAfee's show. As stated 24 hours earlier, the podcast host claimed the NFL star would no longer have his "Aaron Rodgers Tuesday" segment following his controversial comments about Jimmy Kimmel's ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
McAfee noted that while his show promoted freedom of speech, people would have to deal with the consequences of their words. Although he didn't mention Rodgers's name directly, the host claimed previous episodes had "given a lot of people who have been waiting for us to fail a lot of ammo."
The sports analyst noted he respected Rodgers' achievements on the field but implied that the athlete's fame did not overshadow his controversial comments. "Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Famer. He is a four-time MVP. He is a massive piece of the NFL story. Whenever you go back and tell it, he will be a huge part of it," McAfee stressed, before adding:
"We are very lucky to get a chance to chat with him and learn from him. Some of his thoughts and opinions, though, do p--- off a lot of people. And I'm pumped that that is no longer every single Wednesday of my life, which it has been for the last few weeks."
The podcast host noted that he disliked being attached to the drama between Rodgers and Kimmel and "doing these types of talks." McAfee dropped a clip of his announcement on X, noting in the caption that he was ready to resume conversations about sports on his show.
Aaron Rodgers Claimed His Feud With Jimmy Kimmel Was A Big Misunderstanding
Days before Rodgers returned to McAfee's show, he got on Kimmel's bad side by implying the late-night talk show host had ties to Epstein's infamous list. The latter reacted to the comments with painful jabs at the NFL star's intelligence, calling him a "hamster-brained man."
Following Kimmel's criticisms, Rodgers reappeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" to address the duo's feud. According to the quarterback, the drama was a big misunderstanding as he would never accuse anyone of being a pedophile without evidence.
The 40-year-old noted that his comments about Kimmel being worried about Epstein's infamous list did not imply the TV host's name was on it. Instead, he was referring to the fact that he was right that the list exists since Kimmel didn't seem to believe it did.
He stressed that he understood Kimmel's anger but insisted the talk show host's emotions were misplaced. In the NFL star's words:
"I'm not stupid enough, even though you think I'm an idiot, and you made a lot of comments about my intelligence. But I'm not stupid enough to accuse you of that with absolutely zero evidence, concrete evidence. That's ridiculous."
Rodgers noted that he wished to end his beef with Kimmel but refused to apologize for his previous comments, noting that the misunderstanding wasn't his fault.
