New creator tools are changing the way we talk about our favorite athletes. For trust and access to flourish, personalities will need to prioritize not only distribution, but also accountability.

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On May 4, former professional basketball player JJ Redick woke up, made a guest appearance on ESPN’s debate show First Take, and chose violence:

“The reason that people want to hear what Draymond [Green] has to say is because…he is real, authentic, and unfiltered. And as a player, he is real, authentic, and unfiltered. The edge that he plays with is what makes him great. It’s what makes him a future Hall of Famer. You can’t take away what makes a player great, so there is no shut up and play.”

You may have watched Redick’s emphatic rant go viral on Twitter; after all, one clip from the segment has made the rounds to over 13 million viewers. But there was more to unpack than a discussion about the on-court play of a NBA superstar – the moment highlighted a deeper struggle for the soul of sports media itself.

In a new world with new rules – one where anyone can turn on a microphone and voice their opinion – the creator economy is fundamentally changing the way we talk about our favorite athletes. And for trust and access to flourish, personalities will need to prioritize not only distribution, but also accountability.

Part I – The Dukie and the Mad Dog

During his record-breaking college basketball career, JJ Redick was once labeled “the most hated current athlete in America.”

A lot of the sentiment stemmed from Redick’s DWI incident in 2006, along with other very public controversies Duke Athletics was involved in at the time. But after a 15-year run with six NBA clubs, the sharpshooter retired as a well-liked teammate and respected elder statesman.

Before he called it quits, though, Redick broke new ground as the first active professional athlete to host a podcast. In his 2016 press release, he outlined the strategy behind his new venture:

“I think that this will give fans a deeper dive into the lifestyle and the personalities not just of the NBA, but of other athletes, entertainers and business leaders who have had an influence on my life and career…there will be something here for everyone, and I’m looking forward to getting into the project.”

Redick went on to gain experience in his side hustle, with the show bouncing around from Yahoo to Uninterrupted and The Ringer. By the time the 2020 NBA Bubble rolled around, he decided he wanted to go independent, creating a YouTube channel to distribute his conversations and co-founding a company called ThreeFourTwo Productions.

By the end of his career, JJ Redick was considered a great teammate and respected elder statesman (Photo by Yong Kim)

It turned out to be a smart decision. That channel, The Old Man & the Three, now reaches over 600k subscribers, and ESPN came calling not too long after Redick’s playing days ended in 2021.

Which brings us to the clip from May 4. Draymond Green – the vocal leader behind the Golden State Warriors’ success for the better part of a decade – had recently been ejected from a playoff game and flipped off opposing fans during the following match. Sharing his own opinions on everything going on, Green got ahead of the mainstream narratives he believed would emerge and recorded an episode of his own podcast from a hotel room in Memphis.

Between his actions both off the court and on it, the star forward naturally sparked debate on First Take. Here’s what one of the panelists, sports radio personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, had to say on the subject:

“I’ll give you a large segment of older fans who have followed the NBA for 60 years. This is not a political scenario or a race situation…[they’ve] followed Wilt, and grew up as a Knick fan…who can’t stand him!”

The criticism visibly bothered Redick, immediately spawning countless memes overshadowed by his response itself:

“The fans you’re talking about, they talk about athletes that way, like you just talked about an athlete. People on Fox News talk about athletes that way….I don’t actually care about the fans who watched Bob Cousy play, or Wilt play. I appreciate that they’ve been NBA fans that long, but I don’t appreciate the undertone.”

With over 30 years of experience in sports media, Mad Dog knew when to shut his mouth in losing an argument. But this interaction also showcased something else entirely – the industry has reached a tipping point. Independent of traditional media networks, athletes now have the power to drive the conversation around themselves and their peers.

And following the trail Redick blazed, no one’s doing it quite like Pat McAfee.

Part II – Huge For The Brand

In 2016, the Indianapolis Colts’ punter was on top of the world, named to his second Pro Bowl and widely regarded across the NFL as the best at his position.

Yet Pat McAfee was more than just a good football player. Whether intentional or not, he was quickly becoming an Internet hero, spawning memes given his mixture of on-field swagger and off-the-field comedy chops (clips of his stand-up sets at comedy clubs would often make the rounds on social media).

Unfortunately, after the season, McAfee had to get knee surgery, his third in four years. So at the height of his athletic powers, he announced he was leaving football with a twist: he would be joining Barstool Sports as a contributor, and opening a new facility for the popular media brand in Indianapolis.

Pat McAfee made a name for himself as a Pro Bowl punter and Internet legend (Photo by Andy Lyons)

The move surprised many in the sports industry. Yes, plenty of former athletes have gone on to have long and successful second careers in broadcasting. But at age 29, in an athlete’s prime? Walking away from a contract that was set to pay him $6 million over the next two years? And for a company that has been mired in controversy pretty much since its inception?

However, McAfee wanted to, in his words, “make the transition to Internet businessman.” That’s why he turned down an offer from NFL Network – he believed learning under Barstool founder Dave Portnoy was the perfect opportunity to reach his goals. And over the next year, Barstool began to flex its true business potential, growing from a Boston street newspaper to a global brand valued at $100 million backed by investment firm The Chernin Group.

Joining this rocket ship paid huge dividends for McAfee’s Heartland office in Indianapolis. He became a mainstay across the company’s network of shows and social media accounts, and by the start of 2018, The Pat McAfee Show reached millions through a licensing deal with radio behemoth Sirius XM.

When that summer rolled around, though, the relationship had become rocky. After Chernin’s investment, Barstool moved to new headquarters in New York and began to hire a bigger team behind its sales engine. According to an open letter McAfee tweeted in August 2018, though, this added layer of bureaucracy caused major problems:

“...[it was] very difficult being 713 miles away. Financial decisions were being made for me by people I had never met, deals were getting made AND PULLED without my knowledge. The transparency of everything became obsolete and very expensive.”

Stating he held no hard feelings for Portnoy or Barstool CEO Erika Nardini, less than two years after announcing his retirement, McAfee was a free agent once again. Except this time around, he decided to build his own venture from the ground up, and Pat McAfee Inc., was born.

Part III – Access As A Service

Over the next several years, McAfee took various gigs as he continued to become an established name in sports media. He called NFL games for Fox, worked on ESPN studio shows, and appeared as a color commentator for WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown. Additionally, his company brought on other personalities to host podcasts around topics like hockey, gambling, and wrestling.

But it was the trademark Pat McAfee Show that took a star turn as fans embraced McAfee’s everyman personality, shining through his uncensored conversations with insiders and other athletes. This led to near-unparalleled access across the industry, including weekly guest appearances from four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers – we’ll come back to this later.

By 2020, McAfee had partnered with Sirius XM to broadcast his daily show across the radio waves. His livestreams also grew in popularity on his YouTube channel, which boasts nearly two million subscribers at the time of writing.

Between seamless distribution and a high-quality product, football’s favorite punter had bet on himself and won big. He was rewarded with a substantial bag to match, as a gambling company, FanDuel, offered him a four-year, $120 million deal in 2021 to become the presenting sponsor of his show.

This is – and always has been – the promise of the creator economy. With a small, scrappy team and a WiFi connection, anyone can turn their unique voice into a thriving small business. Sure, guys like Pat McAfee and J.J. Redick have a built-in advantage, as the massive platforms of their respective sports leagues naturally give them a pretty impressive rolodex from the jump. Yet if it was easy for every athlete to launch a million-dollar media company, then why haven’t more done it?

This question is purposely rhetorical because, in truth, I believe that we’ll continue to see current and former players develop podcasts. Some will join networks to form mutually-beneficial relationships where they get to focus on content as opposed to ad sales, such as Blue Wire’s recent acquisitions of athlete-led shows from Richard Jefferson and Duncan Robinson.

And overall, this should be considered a good thing. An explosion of small media businesses will force the big dogs like ESPN to innovate in format and distribution. Plus, athletes can now share their own perspectives without fear of feeling misrepresented by any narratives drawn by individuals and institutions they don’t trust.

There’s only one problem, though. All that access across sports and industries comes with a price, as McAfee found out after what should’ve been another harmless guest spot exploded for all of the wrong reasons.

Part IV – The Accountability Paradox

After a 2021 offseason filled with drama, by the end of the summer, Aaron Rodgers had geared up for another successful run as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. He informed Packers’ faithful as much in a press conference on August 26, where he also happened to mention that he’d been “immunized” when a reporter inquired about his vaccination status.

However, in November, Rodgers sat out for an extended period of time upon testing positive for COVID-19. As it turned out, the quarterback had not actually received the vaccine, and with a media maelstrom developing, he decided to save any comments for his buddy’s show.

When Pat McAfee welcomed him on to his show on November 5th, the host started off by explaining how it was an “honor” to give Rodgers “a platform to explain” his “side of this whole thing.” The quarterback took that opportunity and ran with it, decrying the “witch hunt” against him – instigated by “woke culture” – from his couch in Green Bay. He also referenced his use of the medically-debunked drug ivermectin as proof of his “immunization”; while Rodgers didn’t specify who was on the team that aided in this decision, he did mention that Joe Rogan was someone he consulted.

As in podcast host, comedian, and UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

While Rodgers walked back some of his comments with a half-apology the following week, the damage had been done. Worse, given McAfee barely pushed back on anything Rodgers said, this misinformation from two very public figures has now been viewed by millions.

Which brings up the question: as the CEO of this modern media business, who – and what – is Pat McAfee responsible for?

Should he focus on painting his friends in a positive light so that they’ll continue to come on the show?

Is he beholden to making content that encourages the tendencies of gambling, thus lining the pockets of his shiny new title sponsor?

Or does Pat McAfee owe his fans a talk show molded to his vision yet responsible and truthful all the same?

The reason I bring this up is because it’s important to acknowledge where power resides. Yes, when Draymond Green toasts the “New Media,” he’s right to campaign for a seat at the table in the age of player empowerment.

Still, the informal, free-wheeling nature of conversation-based podcasts – a breath of fresh air we often tend to celebrate – can lead to a lack of accountability when not reigned in effectively. After all, when Draymond flips off fans, the ensuing podcast really only includes one account of the incident – his. When Pat McAfee brings on a friend who downplays the dangers of gambling, technically speaking, McAfee is incentivized to let his guest keep talking. If this is the present iteration, veteran media figures are right in scrutinizing the future.

ESPN personality Malika Andrews has recently started posting shorts and clips from set to her YouTube channel (Photo via ESPN)

Nevertheless, trust is a two-way street with both athletes and audiences, and those who succeed are the ones willing to get in the car. Journalists and radio hosts cannot fall back on tired tropes and coded language like Mad Dog’s display on First Take; it’s what supercharged this movement in the first place. Plus, for lack of a better term, it’s simply lazy.

While I may be biased, I believe that holding up a higher bar for reporting, storytelling, and character will always transcend methods of distribution and gain back that trust. For ESPN’s talented studio host Malika Andrews, her style has translated effectively as the company scales her YouTube channel through a combination of vertical shorts and horizontal clips.This dynamic is a win-win for both parties: Malika gets to share a different side of her personality, while ESPN reaches a whole new demographic of sports fans at a fraction of their traditional studio cost.

To conclude, in a world where old clashes with new, a decentralized sports media might just succeed in providing everyone with a voice. Yet it’s important for personalities across the professional spectrum to wield the creative tools at their disposal responsibly – and not pick and choose tried-and-true practices as they please.

Coverage from Creator Mag.3 continues on! Plus, follow along with NGL’s work on Twitter here.

Pat McAfee's New Sports Media

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