Mike Greenberg and Pat McAfee on Get Up Photo credit: ESPN

Whether you love or hate Pat McAfee on ESPN, Mike Greenberg is willing to take some credit for bringing him to Disney’s sports brand.

Greenberg recently joined the Awful Announcing Podcast, where he discussed Michael Jordan, Inside the NBAMike and MikeGet Up, and more. During the interview, Greenberg was also asked about McAfee being a focal point for ESPN.


“I like to say I take a little bit of the credit for him with us,” Greenberg admitted. “I brought him to Get Up; I was the first person to put him on ESPN regularly. It started because I saw him at the draft in Nashville, and there was just an obvious spark. I watched his performance there and I thought, ‘Man, this guy has got something going on.’ So I reached out to him on social…and that led to him coming and doing Get Up once a week every week for two seasons, and he was great.”

Greenberg thought McAfee was great for ESPN then, and he still thinks he’s great now with his daily show. And with three very different personalities and hosting styles in Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith, and McAfee, ESPN boasts weekday studio shows that can appeal to a wide-ranging audience.

“Pat is a really smart, really talented guy,” Greenberg said. “So, I think he’s been terrific. He is an acquired taste. He is not for everyone, I get that. Some people will like one flavor, they like what I do, others will like another flavor, they like what Steve does, others will like another flavor, they like what McAfee does. At ESPN, we can offer all of those. And I think that’s a great thing.”

McAfee and ESPN are now approaching the two-year anniversary of their marriage. Two years ago, most sports media analysts would have taken the under on that bet.

Prior to joining ESPN, McAfee had a history of leaving platforms, with Barstool Sports, CBS Sports Radio, SiriusXM, and FanDuel all being in the show’s rearview mirror. Since joining ESPN, it has been anything but smooth, with McAfee finding controversy and publicly battling executives. But to the credit of both McAfee and ESPN, they’ve continued to push forward, succeeding in their promise to keep the show as it was before the marriage.

A marriage that might not exist if it wasn’t for Mike Greenberg playing matchmaker.

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About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com