Pro Bowler McAfee laughing all the way to retirement

Pat McAfee, one of the NFL’s best punters and biggest wise-crackers, wasn’t joking late Wednesday when he announced his retirement at age 29 to become a comedian.

He announced his departure during a skit on Comedy Central’s “Barstool Rundown,” staging a fake news conference in which kicker Adam Vinatieri asked from the audience “Who’s going to hold my balls for me?”

He’ll join Barstool Sports as a blogger and comedy writer in hopes of “making the world a happier place.”

A former West Virginia standout, McAfee spent his entire eight-year pro career with the Indianapolis Colts, becoming beloved by fans despite his one-game suspension in 2010 for public intoxication after he took a late-night swim in the city canal.

McAfee pledged to remain in Indianapolis and in a farewell letter called Indiana residents “literally the best humans on earth.”

This season McAfee topped the NFL with a 49.3-yard average, earning his second Pro Bowl invitation. He skipped the event however because of a pending knee surgery.

“Staring down my third knee surgery in four years with more surgeries certain in the future, it was definitely a part of it,” McAfee told “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday. “It’s one of those things where my brain and shoulders are going to be good for the rest of my life hopefully, because I don’t play one of the super-tough positions in football, obviously. But my knees have really taken a beating.

“The last half of the seasons, I couldn’t really walk much on days that I kicked. I just don’t want to lay in bed and ice my knees. I felt like a 90-year-old man. Really just going into work every morning, ‘God, there has to be something more to life than kicking balls.’”

McAfee praised Colts owner Jim Irsay, saying the men spoke for nearly two hours this week about the punter’s future.

“(Irsay) obviously wanted me to play a few more years, but when he saw my excitement for the opportunity he did nothin but support me,” McAfee tweeted.

“The NFL is really cool, and if I was a quarterback or played a position where I could have more of a grip on the game, I’d really love it. But I didn’t feel fulfillment out of punting. I didn’t feel fulfillment the way I did once I started making people laugh. Like ‘cool, I’m really impacting people.’ Now I’ll have the freedom to do that full time.”

McAfee remains popular with Mountaineer Nation despite two missed kicks factoring heavily into the infamous 13-9 loss to Pitt which cost WVU a chance to play for the 2007 national championship.

He made 58-of-79 field-goal tries at West Virginia and assumed the punting duties for his final three seasons, averaging 43.7 yards per kick.

McAfee walks away from the game with two years remaining on his contract.

“My life has been littered with terrible decisions,” he told the Indianapolis Star. “This is at the top of the list.”





More Sports

Sports
Beanie Bishop posts top 40-yard dash time at Big 12 Pro Day
March 29, 2024 - 1:21 am
High School Sports
Herbert Hoover improves to 10-0 with 2-1 win over Hurricane
The Huskies collected a pair of victories Thursday in the Guard the Capital Invitational in Charleston.
March 29, 2024 - 12:51 am
High School Sports
Independence bests Wahama, 10-2 in the Guard the Capital Tournament
March 28, 2024 - 9:03 pm
High School Sports
Photo gallery: University defeats Bridgeport, 12-3
March 28, 2024 - 6:24 pm