No wonder Aaron Rodgers was willing to take a pay cut from the New York Jets this past off-season.
He’s making a ton of money on the side.
According to a report in the New York Post, Pat McAfee is paying the former NFL MVP big money to appear on his sports talk program – The Pat McAfee Show – every week.
“Aaron has made over $1,000,000 with us, for sure,” McAfee told the Post over direct message.
McAfee, a former NFL player himself, isn’t going broke by dipping into his own pockets to bring on guests. On top of the money that he made from his time in the league, McAfee recently joined forces with ESPN and has been omnipresent on the network.
“My company went from a valuation of ($2 million to $5 million) to a company valued over $500 million in just a few years,” McAfee said. “Everybody who helped us get to this point has reaped the benefits of it, that’s how business is supposed to work.
“To be transparent, Aaron deserves much more than what he’s gotten for the time and effort he has put into ‘Aaron Rodgers’ Tuesdays.’
“I know there’s an old viewpoint that Billion Dollar corporations have tried to make a standard that players and coaches are lucky to get on the platform and talk. Well, as the human who owns my company and sees the value directly associated with these guys sharing their stories and thoughts, I think that’s bulls—. ‘If somebody’s making money off of this, I’m making money off of this. If nobody’s making any money, and it’s all for good will, I’m making no money as well’ is my mindset for doing stuff and I treat my company the same way. I give rather large bonuses as thank you’s and I genuinely believe it’s the only way to operate.”
While Rodgers has a typical Tuesday slot on McAfee’s show, which is co-hosted by another ex-NFLer, A.J. Hawk, Alabama head coach Nick Saban makes regular appearances on Thursdays – and the Crimson Tide boss also rakes in a big fee.
Considering how much exposure and engagement McAfee gets from his big guest, we’d say that it is money well spent.