Pat McAfee announces his debut album. For real. 'Finding my singing voice has been fun'

Pat McAfee knows conscionable what the satellite needs successful 2026.

More Pat McAfee.

The erstwhile Indianapolis Colts punter and kicker already is seemingly everyplace — arsenic the big of his ain amusement each weekday connected ESPN, arsenic an expert connected “College GameDay” and impermanent connected a fig of different shows connected the network, arsenic a commentator/participant with WWE until earlier this year, arsenic big of aggregate podcasts, etc.

McAfee has not, however, released an medium afloat of songs written and sung wholly by the two-time Pro Bowl enactment himself.

That concern volition beryllium rectified successful a substance of weeks.

McAfee announced Wednesday that helium would beryllium dropping his debut record, “The Diary of a Polarizing Figure,” connected Aug. 14, a philharmonic collaboration with state singer-songwriter Ernest.

“For arsenic agelong arsenic I tin retrieve my specified beingness has made radical hatred my guts,” McAfee wrote successful an X station announcing the project. “I’ve been penning songs astir it for 20yrs & it’s clip to fto them aht.. A LOT of headlines & narratives.. if I was to die, I’d similar my kids to cognize precisely who their dada is.”

Although McAfee decidedly has his detractors, it’s absorbing that he’s putting retired an medium focusing connected the haters, considering his existent popularity is specified that helium is reportedly successful talks for a declaration hold with ESPN that would wage him much than $60 cardinal a year.

Some online commenters person criticized McAfee for the timing of his announcement, which comes a time aft a fig of his ESPN colleagues were laid disconnected by Walt Disney Co. McAfee reposted 1 specified ailment connected X and commented simply, “The Diary of a Polarizing Figure, August 14th, 2026.”

He said Wednesday connected “The Pat McAfee Show”: “A batch of things are being said astir maine astatine this nonstop moment. [People] are going to perceive my responses done these songs due to the fact that these types of situations person been happening to maine passim my full life. … Literally since simple schoolhouse I’ve had radical that conscionable don’t similar maine due to the fact that I’m excessively large and everything similar that.”

In December, McAfee released a country-rock azygous called “Dookie,” besides a philharmonic collaboration with Ernest. A quality merchandise astatine the clip stated that the azygous marked “a caller concern betwixt McAfee and DeVille Records / Big Loud Records.”

Ernest told Whiskey Riff aboriginal this twelvemonth that helium and McAfee had recorded 8 oregon 9 songs together.

“Any EA Sports crippled should person a Pat McAfee opus connected it,” Ernest said successful describing the erstwhile West Virginia standout’s philharmonic style. “It’s locker country hype s—.”

Many athletes person attempted philharmonic careers, with varying degrees of captious and commercialized success. It would look acold less sports broadcasters person tried the aforesaid crossover, with John Tesh astir apt being the best-known illustration aft his stint covering diversion events for CBS and NBC successful the mid-1980s.

If helium wants proposal from a peer, possibly McAfee mightiness question it from Terry Bradshaw, the four-time Super Bowl champion and longtime NFL expert who besides has released a fig of country/gospel albums and adjacent had a apical 10 state deed with a screen of “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” successful the 1970s.

McAfee said connected his amusement that helium “wrote this full happening implicit the past 20 years oregon truthful successful the notes section” of his phone.

“A batch of precise idiosyncratic worldly successful here,” helium said. “Finding my singing dependable has been fun. That has been a blast. Then [to] each the unthinkable radical successful Nashville who person assisted and benignant of helped maine portion each this together, I’m truthful grateful and thankful.”