{
  "id": 2655413,
  "title": "‘Would McAfee be what he is now without us?’ Dave Portnoy addresses if Barstool ‘made’ Pat McAfee",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/would-mcafee-be-what-he-is-now-without-us-dave-portnoy-addresses-if",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-22T21:48:36.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mcafee-now-without-us-dave-214836323.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Pat McAfee, now a prominent figure in sports media, once worked at Barstool Sports. Dave Portnoy, the CEO of Barstool, believes that Barstool played a role in McAfee's success. After briefly working with Barstool, McAfee left in 2018 due to financial decisions made without his knowledge. Portnoy acknowledged McAfee's talent and ambitions, but he doesn't think McAfee would have been as successful without Barstool. Portnoy highlighted McAfee's ambition, such as his desire to become a WWE Champion, and noted that Barstool taught him how to use the internet and social media effectively. While many others at Barstool didn't achieve McAfee's level of success, Portnoy believes McAfee was the right person at the right time to benefit from Barstool's support.",
  "summary": "Over the past several years, Pat McAfee has become perhaps the most high-profile person in sports media and the growing face of ESPN. Before all of that, however, he was at Barstool Sports, and Dave Portnoy seems to think that McAfee has Barstool to thank for some of his success. While Portnoy acknowledges that McAfee…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "‘I thought it was horrible’: Dave Portnoy does not hold back on Pat McAfee album",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/i-thought-it-was-horrible-dave-portnoy-does-not-hold-back-on-pat",
        "published": "2026-08-22T15:55:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}