- McAfee announced Wednesday that Rodgers will not appear again this season
- The quarterback sparked controversy last week with his comments about Kimmel
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
According to reports, Pat McAfee has personally made the call to end Aaron Rodgers’ weekly appearances on his ESPN show for the remainder of the NFL season.
Rodgers, who is believed to be paid more than $1 million a year for his appearance on McAfee’s show, sparked controversy last week when he appeared to suggest that comedian Jimmy Kimmel will be included on a list of Jeffrey’s alleged associates Epstein.
After Kimmel hit back by threatening legal action and demanding an apology, the New York Jets quarterback declined to do so during what turned out to be his final appearance on the McAfee show for the foreseeable future.
He also denied suggesting that Kimmel will be named on the Epstein list, while highlighting the television host’s regular jokes at his expense over the years.
A day later, McAfee announced during his Wednesday show that Rodgers will not play for the rest of the NFL season.
Pat McAfee has made the personal call to end Aaron Rodgers’ weekly appearances on his show
McAfee announced Wednesday that Rodgers will not appear on his ESPN sports talk show for the remainder of the NFL season
The New York Jets quarterback sparked controversy last week by suggesting that Jimmy Kimmel (pictured) will be named as one of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates
Richard Deitsch of The Athletic revealed for the first time on Wednesday that the decision was made by McAfee himself, as he has “creative control and control over the guest booking.” ESPN would also support his call.
And the New York Post is now reporting that Rodgers was set to appear in the Super Bowl next month, before his feud with Kimmel forced McAfee to end his weekly segments earlier than expected.
Despite that reported plan, ESPN host
“Our fans know that ART (Rodgers’ segment) ends shortly after Aaron’s team’s season ends. That’s what it’s been like,” he said. “He’ll do random, surprise pop-ins during big events or off-season adventures, but it’s always been a seasonal thing.
“I never said he’ll never be on the show again. I hope he chooses to still talk to us.”
McAfee, who licenses his show to ESPN, cast the move to poach Rodgers as his own initiative, saying Wednesday: “I run my show. I retain my creative rights.’
But the 36-year-old believes he has enemies inside and outside the network, all of whom have been given ammunition in each of his paid weekly interviews with Rodgers.
“We’ve given a lot of people who have been waiting for us this past week a lot of ammunition and other things to attack us on,” McAfee said.
Since he has creative control of the show, McAfee would be responsible for the decision to ax Rodgers
The controversy began last week, when the New York Jets quarterback recklessly suggested to McAfee that Kimmel “hopes that list doesn’t come to fruition.”
The list Rodgers was referring to is a 2015 civil defamation lawsuit filed against the late millionaire Epstein.
The statement was publicly revealed for the first time this month and includes the names of many alleged Epstein clients, who are accused of having sexual intercourse with underage girls. Kimmel was not named in the statement, he has maintained his innocence and there are no credible allegations against him.
But despite his clear suggestion to the contrary, Rodgers denied the link between Kimmel and Epstein, telling McAfee on Tuesday that he is being canceled by the mainstream media: “This is the media’s game plan, and this is what they do.” They’re trying to cancel, you know? And it’s not just me.’