Is Pat McAfee’s kicking contest coming back to ‘College GameDay’?

Last December, Pat McAfee subtly hinted on College GameDay that there was a chance his popular kicking contest wouldn’t return this season.

McAfee stated, “It’ll be our final kick of the season, maybe of the entire series,” reiterating the sentiment by saying, “One more kick. Final kick of the season. Final kick, maybe, of the field goal kicking contest.”

This is nothing new for McAfee, who regularly cryptically hints at things as if he’s leaving AIM away messages in 2001. Most of these subtle messages are purposeful and meant to gain leverage, signaling that he’s unafraid to put his business on a major platform if what he’s seeking isn’t delivered.

Clearly, the comments, said twice, were a message. The field goal kicking contest, which has become a signature moment for GameDay, particularly in light of Lee Corso retiring and the end of the iconic headgear segment, was not a for-sure thing to return for the show’s upcoming season.

Rece Davis was asked about the status of the contest back in June and didn’t share much, saying, “That’s Pat’s domain. You’ll have to ask Pat about that.”

We reached out to ESPN PR for an update and were told nothing could be shared at this time and that we’d have to tune in next week to find out. Will we have to wait that long?

Last year, two days before the first week of GameDay, ESPN’s press release shared that the kicking contest was indeed returning for a third year. So perhaps we’ll get word before Sept. 6 when the Week 1 GameDay press release hits.

Beyond contacting ESPN PR, we asked multiple sources at ESPN involved with GameDay, and most were under the impression the segment was coming back but hadn’t heard anything official. Many had forgotten about McAfee’s comments from December on the topic.

So what do we think will happen? And what possibly played out behind the scenes over the offseason?

Our best guess is that McAfee, who was paying for the prize money out of pocket, wanted a new financial arrangement for the contest. ESPN has shared that Pat has paid over $6 million to students and charities since the contest started, with last year accounting for the bulk of it. The contest involves a selected student trying to make a 33-yard field goal, with Kirk Herbstreit as the holder, to win what is usually a prize of $200,000 or more. Often, when the first kick misses, second chances are given, and sometimes the reward amount goes up. Sometimes if no kick is made, McAfee will make a donation to charity instead.

Essentially, there are no concrete rules. It’s just kind of vibes. If you ever got some good news while at a bar, bought a round of drinks for your friends, and then some random people said, “What about me?” and you said, “Sure, why not?”, it kind of feels like that. It’s good vibes. It elevates the show and always is a breakout social media moment. But ultimately, it costs money. McAfee’s money up until now.

Obviously, ESPN values this recently invented staple of the show. They want it to return. Could they perhaps foot some of the bill? Or more likely, could this be folded into an existing or new GameDay sponsorship package? A ton of brands would jump at the opportunity to be attached to the segment, so this seems like the most likely outcome.

Or perhaps McAfee would like to continue as the sole benefactor of the contest and is working future prize money for the segment into his rumored ESPN extension, believed to be north of $60 million a year.

Another possibility is McAfee wants to make sure he owns the intellectual property surrounding the contest. McAfee reportedly considered starting his own separate version of GameDay before opting to return to the show last year. If he ever circled back to this idea, he’d want to have certainty that the popular segment would stay attached to him. When David Letterman left NBC for CBS, NBC initially insisted that it owned his popular Top Ten segment (an agreement was reached later).

We’d be shocked if the segment disappeared, but McAfee hinted at the possibility, likely to secure some financial support for the segment. We’ll see what those changes, if any, look like soon enough. And if nothing else, it will further reaffirm the value of McAfee’s preferred leverage tactic, subtly airing a grievance publicly before that message is communicated less subtly down the road.

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