Pat McAfee apparently deals with some seriously scary shit behind the scenes. Things got so bad at one point that the FBI told the ESPN star he should consider wearing a bulletproof vest.
According to Front Office Sports, McAfee regularly receives threatening messages, including death threats. A source told the outlet that the FBI advised him to wear a bulletproof vest during the week after Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
That suddenly puts a lot more context around McAfee’s recent blowup over his trip to the University of Utah. McAfee was there over the weekend for College GameDay, but things got weird before the show even really got going. The university’s official social media account posted a video featuring students impersonating McAfee, with some calling him “corny” and poking fun at his habit of ripping his shirt off.
Normally, McAfee can take people talking trash about him. His problem was that the university itself posted the video right before he was about to walk in front of thousands of people and basically spend hours promoting the school. McAfee said Monday that he had never felt more uncomfortable during a College GameDay appearance.
“I thought to myself: Has anything really scary happened at, like, a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?”
McAfee then questioned why the school would put something out that could give people another reason to hate him.
“Do you think we should be amplifying reasons for why people hate my guts as a university? I don’t know. So it was just a lot of mixed feelings for me going out there.”
At the time, those comments sounded pretty extreme without knowing everything McAfee was apparently dealing with behind the scenes. Now there’s a little more context, considering he reportedly receives death threats and had previously gotten bulletproof-vest advice from the FBI.
The day didn’t get any better during McAfee’s kicking contest either. A student questioned why she could win “only” $1 million after another student had previously won $3 million. She missed all three kicks, but McAfee was clearly pissed about the reaction.
“Only one million dollars? It’s like, alright, I hate this place. They have a good football team, though.”
McAfee has since made it pretty clear he has no interest in going back to Utah with College GameDay. ESPN is backing him up too. The network told Front Office Sports that it takes threats against its talent seriously and specifically said McAfee’s concerns were legitimate.
“We support Pat and recognize the very real and valid concerns he has around safety and security.”
The University of Utah has since apologized, admitting its attempt at having some fun with McAfee “missed the mark.” The school also reached out to him directly and made it clear that McAfee and the entire College GameDay crew are welcome back.
Whether McAfee actually takes them up on that invitation is another story. After finding out the guy was reportedly getting death threats and had the FBI telling him to think about body armor, it’s a little easier to understand why a university publicly stirring people up against him wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time.
Does knowing the FBI advised Pat McAfee to wear a bulletproof vest change how you look at his reaction to what happened at Utah? Let us know what you think in the comments.
