Pat McAfee, who had gone on hiatus from WWE in September 2022 to join the ESPN College Gameday team, returned for a one-off at the 2023 Royal Rumble pay-per-view event this past January.
However, he hasn’t been used as a commentator since then on WWE programming.
Speaking to Andrew Marchand and John Ourand on the Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast, WWE President Nick Khan noted that McAfee won’t be at the show. He said,
“We have no plans to have him there this weekend. The world is his oyster. He’s 36 years old. Look at his relevancy factor when you talk to young children. I have two young children, when I talk to them, it’s often, ‘McAfee, McAfee, McAfee.’ That’s what’s in the wheelhouse for them. If you look at any of the traditional buyers, what do they want? They want a young, diverse audience. What does McAfee bring? A young, diverse audience. He doesn’t get political to the extreme either way. He has Aaron Rodgers on, respectfully develops that relationship, and becomes the go-to home for Aaron Rodgers. You see that with more athletes and Pat. He’s not looking to annihilate anybody or crucify them. He’s looking to have good content and his content has been terrific. He’ll determine, ultimately, where he wants his home to be. Our hope is that he does more with us.”
