Pat McAfee’s unexpected business move adds new twist to his $60 million ESPN future

Pat McAfee has built his brand by staying loud, visible, and unpredictable. Whether it’s on ESPN, WWE, or his daily show, he keeps finding ways to stay in the spotlight. Now, he has made a move nobody saw coming.While Pat McAfee continues working toward a reported $60 million ESPN extension, he has stepped into the business world in a much bigger way. This time, it is not the media. It is food, and it could be a serious long-term play.

Pat McAfee becomes co-owner of Jams while a big ESPN payday waits

Recently, Pat McAfee has joined Jams, the fast-rising peanut butter and jelly brand, as a co-owner, according to “Sports Business Journal.” The partnership marks the first food and beverage investment of McAfee’s career and adds another lane to his already growing empire.The move did not come out of nowhere. For months, “The Pat McAfee Show” crew had been eating Jams products on air and talking about them almost daily. It became a regular part of the show. That connection slowly built into something bigger.Jams founder Connor Blakely explained why Pat McAfee made sense for the company. Blakely said, “What’s special about this is that Pat chose our team and our product for the first investment of this kind in his career.”

That matters because Jams is no longer a small startup. The company launched in July 2025 and quickly secured shelf space at Walmart and Target. It also recently became the NFLPA's exclusive PB&J partner, giving it even stronger ties to football. NFL names like J.J. Watt and Caleb Williams have already backed the brand.Pat McAfee also opened up on why he got involved. In the same “Sports Business Journal interview, he said, They pushed the product hard,” McAfee told SBJ.

“How can you not respect that? When you’re dealing with people who believe so deeply in who they are and what they do, it touches you in a way that makes you want to be involved.”Connor Blakely described why McAfee is the right fit: “When you think about a picture-perfect representative for our product, there’s no doubt it’s Pat. He wears so many different hats. Being a father, media personality, and former professional athlete — so well that he really encompasses what we’re trying to do.

We want Jams to be a product that the next generation of kids, no matter who they are, grow up eating. Pat’s really the perfect person to help us get there.

”That remark says plenty about the surprise of Pat McAfee’s move. The analyst respects hustle, and Jams sold him on belief. The current situation also makes this move stand out. Earlier in June, The Athletic reported McAfee and ESPN are in talks over a new deal worth around $60 million per year. If that deal gets done, it would make him one of the network’s highest-paid analysts.But while that contract still hangs in the air, McAfee is moving anyway. That is the real story here. Pat McAfee is not waiting on ESPN to shape his future. He is building his own.