PAT McAfee and Aaron Rodgers are known for their long-lasting relationship – and often controversial media partnership.
But the NFL stars’ high-profile friendship began under the most unlikely of circumstances.
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The pair had no interaction during McAfee’s career as a punter with the Indianapolis Colts, with Rodgers being the star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.
And they first met at a golf tournament in the Bahamas in 2019, thanks to help from mutual friend AJ Hawk, Rodgers’ former Packers teammate.
“We had a late withdrawal and my friend, AJ Hawk, said, ‘You should call Pat McAfee.’” Rodgers told ManningCast.
“So I got in touch with Pat, and Pat was on a stand-up comedy tour.
“He left the tour and joined our team.”
Rodgers then put McAfee in an awkward position as soon as he arrived.
“And I went up to him when he got there — I had never met him, and I introduced myself and said, ‘Hey, when I introduce you at the welcome dinner, do you mind doing a few minutes of striking?’” Rodgers said .
“He said, ‘No, I’m not going to do that.'”
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But Rodgers was impressed with McAfee’s next move.
“Pat gets on stage, takes the microphone out of my hands and stands for 10 minutes,” recalled Rodgers.
“And I knew from that point on we would be good friends.
“And I always appreciate that about him.”
The golf tournament was also a great success.
“He went the whole trip, he rolled up his pants to show off his quads, it was almost like he was wearing a skimpy bathing suit,” Rodgers said.
“He played barefoot. I don’t think golf worked out very well for him, but it was a partnership event.
“I always made sure he had a good partner and I think he was on the winning team in most matches.”
Since then, Rodgers has been a mainstay of McAfee’s hugely successful YouTube show alongside Hawk.
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The New York Jets quarterback’s weekly appearances have provided many of the show’s most popular highlights and catchphrases over the past four years.
In 2021, Rodgers spent 45 minutes speaking in-depth on the show about his vaccination status — a clip that has since garnered 1.6 million views on YouTube.
The following year, he detailed his experimentation with the psychedelic drug Ayahuasca.
And in 2023, Rodgers revealed he would be attending a dark retreat, going into detail before and after his time at McAfee.
His jab at Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce quickly went viral after he dubbed him “Mr. Pfizer” for appearing in a COVID-19 vaccine commercial.
Pat McAfee’s Playing Days
Pat McAfee had a hugely successful period before switching to a career in media.
The talk show star served as a punter in the NFL for eight seasons from 2009 to 2016.
He was a seventh-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft out of West Virginia and spent his entire career with the Indianapolis Colts.
The former punter was named to the Pro Bowl in 2014 and 2016, and was also a first-team All-Pro in 2014.
McAfee holds the NFL’s single record for highest career net punting yardage average at 41.4 yards, while his longest punt of all time was 74.
Last year, the New York Post reported that McAfee paid Rodgers “over a million dollars” to have the New York Jets quarterback appear on his show.
Responding to the article, McAfee said: “My company has gone from a [$2 million to $5 million] to a company valued at over $500 million in just a few years.
“Everyone who has helped us get to this point has reaped the benefits of it, this is how business should work.
“To be transparent, Aaron deserves much more than he got for the time and effort he put into Aaron Rodgers Tuesdays.”
Rodgers was briefly dropped from McAfee’s program during the 2023 season after a series of controversial appearances.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
