Pat McAfee has once again found himself at the center of a controversy after viewers appeared to catch him smoking during his live show. The clip went viral, leading to a debate over the former NFL punter's on-air moment.
LeSean McCoy , a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , also had a strong take on the ESPN personality's influence.
McCoy made it clear that he remains a major fan of McAfee while discussing the former punter's remarkable rise in sports media on the "Speakeasy" podcast. The former NFL running back pointed out just how unusual it is for a retired non-quarterback to achieve that level of popularity.
"Pat is a kicker, bro. Pat is a kicker, and he's more popular than any quarterback that's retired other than Tom Brady , for one," McCoy said before making a remarkable comparison.
"For two is, he is probably the most powerful person other than Donald Trump," McCoy continued.
McCoy then explained why he believes McAfee has such an unusual level of influence, noting the kind of freedom he enjoys. In this case, being spotted smoking on ESPN, seemingly without any consequences.
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"He's the only dude I know that can smoke weed on his show and nothing happens, call out his boss, and then gets a raise. He's the very one," McCoy said .
The comments came as McAfee was already facing backlash over a viral clip from Thursday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show," which airs live on ESPN. Some fans debated whether McAfee appeared to be smoking marijuana during the broadcast.
"So, listen, I'm a fan of Pat. I've always been a fan of Pat, bro. Bro, the stuff he's doing right now, nobody's done," McCoy added. "He's great on TV, great personality, bro. Imagine a kicker doing these types of things."
McAfee responded to the speculation on X. "Little sage never hurt nobody…" he posted .
He then followed it up by turning his attention back to the NFL, praising the Buffalo Bills after their 41-31 victory over the Detroit Lions , courtesy of Josh Allen 's five-total-touchdown performance.
"Also. This Buffalo Bills team came out on fire in their new home… just smoking the Lions in all phases," he added. "Josh Allen's numbers this year might be Biblical. Is this the year Buffalo wins the whole (expletive) thing?"
His position at ESPN is notable because of the degree of independence afforded to his show. McAfee's show operates through a licensing arrangement with ESPN rather than the conventional talent structure used for many network personalities.
This gives his production company considerable control over the program's format and presentation, which helps explain why his broadcasts often feature language and behavior that fall outside traditional sports television norms.
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"I root for Pat, like I said before. Ain't nobody more powerful than him other than the president," McCoy added.
McAfee's influence also comes as the network has undergone major changes following its acquisition of the NFL Network and other NFL media assets.
Notably, ESPN's restructuring led to layoffs involving several prominent personalities, including Ryan Clark, Karl Ravech, Tom Pelissero, Charles Davis, Cam Newton , Bart Scott, and Stephania Bell. But McAfee was not among those affected.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
