Stephen A. Smith doesn't 'give a damn' about making less money than Pat McAfee at ESPN

Stephen A. Smith doesn’t “give a damn” that Pat McAfee will earn more annually than him when his deal with ESPN begins this fall.

“You have so many people that are looking at what he’s getting paid, it’s no secret that even though you don’t know the numbers I make… it’s clearly more than I’m making. ‘Stephen A, what do you have to say about that?’ Two things. Number one, I don’t give a damn,” Smith said on his podcast Monday, via Awful Announcing. “He negotiated his deal a few weeks ago, I negotiated my deal a few years ago…the situation is not the same.”

McAfee, the host of the popular “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube, inked a five-year deal worth around $85 million with ESPN, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. Smith, meanwhile, is contracted to earn an estimated $12 million per year from the network — a deal he signed in 2019. Smith added he isn’t phased by McAfee’s lucrative deal.

“How many times have I told y’all, I’m a big boy. I’ve been to hell and back. This does not phase me at all,” Smith said. “I get easily disgusted by people who are quick to tell you what path to take, knowing they’re leading you down a dead end. If I’m successful, my obligation to you, is to show you and tell you what I know so I could help facilitate your success, because I don’t want to be at the top alone.”

Pat McAfee caught off guard by reaction to move to ESPN

Diehard fans of “The Pat McAfee Show” have expressed their concerns and criticized the former NFL punter’s move to ESPN. McAfee has even admitted he’s been caught off guard by the negative reaction, saying he made a “miscalculation.”

“It’s been tough to go over the mentions,” McAfee said last month. “It has been tough out there. I don’t think I expected that. That was a miscalculation… I think the reason I didn’t expect it is because it didn’t even cross my mind… I feel like our people are the ones that were most mad. It’s like, ‘Hey, we have a good history, do we not?’”

Smith said the criticism towards McAfee is unwarranted.

“I can’t believe the hate people are throwing at Pat McAfee’s direction. For what? To accomplish what he accomplished… he had to bet on himself,” Smith said. “Hate on him? I admire what he has done, I respect what he has done. So much so that I’m doing it… thank you for playing a part in showing the way and the wave of the future.”