Pat McAfee Show CFO reveals massive donation to charity from ESPN field goal contest

The field goal-kicking contest put on by Pat McAfee during ESPN College GameDay every Saturday wasn’t just entertaining. It was also beneficial.

Specifically, it was beneficial for charity. Phil Mains, who is the CFO of The Pat McAfee Show, revealed on Twitter Friday morning that $1,150,000 was donated to charities during the 2024 college football season through McAfee’s kicking contest.

Of the $1 million-plus worth of donations, most of it supported Hurricane Helene relief, according to Mains. The kicking contest also resulted in fans receiving $620,000 on the year, per Mains.

During each ESPN College GameDay stop this season, one fan was selected to attempt a 33-yard field goal through a lottery system. The selected fan was guaranteed one kick for the chance to win $250,000. However, Pat McAfee often gave participants an extra kick worth even more money after they missed the first one. ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit also agreed to put money up for grabs on multiple occasions.

McAfee has been with ESPN College GameDay since the 2022 season. He considered leaving the show at one point but appears locked in for the long haul now, as the show had excellent ratings in 2024.

Kirk Herbstreit admits Pat McAfee, Nick Saban helped stop him from giving up ESPN College GameDay

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit revealed a little bit of news recently during an interview with Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman of On3 as he shared that he put some thought into leaving ESPN College GameDay a few years back.

Herbstreit was hired as an NFL analyst with Amazon Prime Video ahead of the 2022 football season to call games on Thursday nights. After accepting that role, he thought he would leave College GameDay fairly soon after due to his busy schedule.

However, with Pat McAfee and Nick Saban joining ESPN College GameDay in recent years, Herbstreit now doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

“I thought when I took the Amazon deal three years ago that I would probably have to give something up, because it’s so hard to do all three of these things,” Kirk Herbstreit said. “But now, man, you couldn’t kick me off the set. Like I absolutely love it. We’re having a blast.”

McAfee and Saban have brought a new energy to College GameDay that Herbstreit loves. McAfee is incredibly entertaining and knows how to work the crowd, while Saban knows as much about football as anyone and does a great job of breaking down games.

McAfee started with GameDay during the 2022 season, with Saban joining ahead of the 2024 season after retiring from Alabama.

“I’ve known coach a long, long, long time. There’s a serious comfort there with him and me and Pat and Des and Rece. I think it comes across on air,” Herbstreit said. “I think people would learn that Nick Saban’s not the guy at the podium with the Coke bottle and his hands going and getting mad at the media. I think he’s shown that he’s really prepared, he’s really good at this. He’s having fun. He’s completely just put himself right in the middle of the chemistry and a lot of the unscripted moments.

“He cusses every show, which every time he does I forget that Pat changed the rules on that, so he’s allowed to say words now all the time. But I’m not exaggerating, I’ve never had more fun on the show in 29 years. I love it. I love Pat. I love what he brings, the energy that he brings, Des, just the whole thing.”