Pat McAfee Clarifies Why Aaron Rodgers Won't Be on His Show, Adds He Wants to 'Try and Avoid' Controversy

Rodgers dragged the ESPN host into the middle of a long-standing rivalry with Kimmel last week

Pat McAfee is clarifying that Aaron Rodgers is still welcome on his ESPN program, in response to misinformed media reports that suggested the NFL quarterback had been kicked off the show.

The incorrect media reports spawned from Rodgers’ weekly appearances on the show coming to their usual end because the NFL quarterback only appears on the ESPN program during the league’s regular season, which ended this week.

“I never said he’ll never be on the show again,” McAfee, 36, tweeted as part of a lengthy statement Wednesday clarifying the situation. “I hope he chooses to still chat with us.”

McAfee’s lengthy statement comes a week after Rodgers, 40, first drew headlines for insinuating late night host Jimmy Kimmel had ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by suicide while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges in August 2019.

The NFL quarterback’s comment led Kimmel, 56, to threaten to sue in an angry tweet directed at Rodgers. “Your reckless words put my family in danger,” Kimmel tweeted. “Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”

Related: Aaron Rodgers Won't Be on Pat McAfee Show for Remainder of the NFL Season, McAfee Confirms

Kimmel later said Rodgers should apologize for the comment, which the NFL quarterback did not.

Instead, Rodgers skirted around making an apology during his final scheduled appearance on McAfee’s show Tuesday. While dodging an apology, Rodgers instead went on a five-minute rant about COVID-19 vaccines and claimed Kimmel had misunderstood what he said when he baselessly suggested the late night host had nefarious ties to Epstein.

"I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be, so for him to be upset about that, I get it," Rodgers said without apologizing.

Related: Aaron Rodgers Doesn't Apologize to Jimmy Kimmel, Says His Claims About Jeffrey Epstein Were Misunderstood

The fallout from Rodgers’ controversial appearances on the Pat McAfee Show led to the deluge of misinformed media reports Wednesday afternoon that suggested the ESPN host kicked Rodgers off his program for his behavior.

“Our fans know that [the weekly “Aaron Rodgers Tuesday” segment] ends shortly after Aaron’s team’s season ends.. that’s how it’s been,” McAfee clarified later in his statement. “He’ll make random surprise welcomed pop ins during big events or offseason adventures but, it’s always been a season thing.”

McAfee did appear relieved on Wednesday’s episode when he announced that Rodgers’ weekly appearances on the program were coming to an end, lamenting that his ESPN talk show had become embroiled in controversy due to the former Super Bowl champion’s comments.

“I’m pumped that that is no longer gonna be every single Wednesday of my life,” McAfee said during the program, adding, “There’s gonna be a lot of people that are happy with that, myself included. To be honest, the way it ended, it got real loud… I’m happy that he’s not gonna be [in] my mentions going forward, which is great news.”

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Later on social media, McAfee echoed his relief and said he plans to try and steer the program away from controversy moving forward.

“I certainly don’t love that I’ve found myself in political wars and public beefs because of something that a guest has said on our show or something that my dumbass has said.. including a lawsuit that was VERY public.. but I think what I’ve come to realize is that it’s gonna come with the territory of this venture,” the ESPN host tweeted. “We are much more aware of that now. And, for the good of our lives, happiness, and mana.. we’re gonna try and avoid as many as possible.”

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