Kirk Herbstreit shares surprising story about Pat McAfee's generosity

There may not be a more divisive figure in sports media today than Pat McAfee. Love him or hate him, you probably have a strong opinion on him one way or another.

It's hard to stay neutral when he is everywhere. From his popular radio show that airs on ESPN, to the set of College GameDay, to wrestling pay-per-views, McAfee is one of the hardest-working men in show business.

He also might be the most generous.

McAfee's College GameDay teammate Kirk Herbstreit recently hopped on the Next Man Up YouTube show with comedian John Crist and shared a story that highlights a different side of McAfee that most fans don't get to see.

"Budget is always a big thing in our industry, and they (ESPN) were trying to cut back on certain things; they made an announcement that they were gonna cut back on this, cut back on that," said Herbstreit. "Pat decided to say, 'If you're gonna cut back on that, I'll cover that... because the crew, the people on the show, they need to have that.'"

Ultimately, ESPN backed off the cuts and covered what needed to be covered so McAfee didn't have to, but the gesture certainly speaks to his character. This wasn't something that McAfee aired out on his show. He wasn't looking for praise. He was just trying to do the right thing. Fans would have never even heard about it if it weren't for Herbstreit telling the story.

College GameDay will look a lot different in 2025

Week 1's College GameDay in Columbus for Texas at Ohio State will be the end of an era for the long-running crowd favorite. For 38 years, if you turned on ESPN on Saturday morning during the college football season, you would see the legendary Lee Corso. The show in Columbus will be his final appearance on the show as he retires from the broadcast.

Corso will leave a hole the size of a mascot head that nobody will be able to fill. Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and Rece Davis have all become mainstays, and newer additions like McAfee and Nick Saban have brought some life back to the show that had lost a bit of its spark.

It will be interesting to see how the show functions without Corso, but McAfee has undoubtedly brought a colorful nature to the show that was needed with Corso's career winding down. He'll never be Lee Corso, and he's not trying to be, but his presence on the show is all the more important moving forward into GameDay's new era.