WWE's Pat McAfee nominated for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame

Pat McAfee may be best known to WWE fans for his incredible work behind the booth on Friday nights. Prior to that, though, he was a punter for the Indianapolis Colts, and his eight-year career has earned him a nod for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Drafted to the Colts in 2009, McAfee was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team for his performance that year. 2014 was arguably his most successful year, one which also led to his first Pro Bowl appearance. An incredible stat from that year came after McAfee's success with onside kicks, where he had the NFL's only two successful kicks in the first four weeks of the season. Later that season, he'd recover his own onside kick, which caught the attention of the league and fans alike.

Besides his brash personality on and off the field and ability as a punter, what endeared him to quite a lot of NFL fans was how often he'd end up getting the tackle off his own punt. McAfee is tied for third all-time for tackles as a punter at 21 with Jason Baker only behind Matt Bosher (27) and Michael Koenen (23).

McAfee joins a list of 128 other modern-era nominees for the 2023 Hall of Fame, which will be narrowed down to 15 finalists by January.

Being nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame is quite an exciting achievement, and viewers of McAfee's daily show got to witness his reaction to the news live.

Pat McAfee continued to be successful after retiring in 2016

While McAfee had a fantastic career with the Indianapolis Colts, he also built his own brand. Following a two-year stint with Barstool Sports where he started "The Pat McAfee Show," he also formed Pat McAfee Inc., which currently runs four separate podcasts. Along with "The Pat McAfee Show," there's, "That's Hockey Talk," "The Pod," and, "Hammer Dahn," the latter of which being PMI's gambling podcast.

McAfee's success isn't just limited to the world of football, as wrestling fans know. Since 2018, he's worked as a pre-show analyst and host for WWE's live watch-alongs on their YouTube channel, and has worked as a member of the SmackDown commentary team alongside Michael Cole since April 2021. Add to that his five matches against Austin Theory, Happy Corbin, Vince McMahon, Adam Cole and the Undisputed Era, and he's solidified himself as a mega star in WWE.

In September of 2022, it was revealed by WWE that McAfee would be stepping away from the commentary desk for the time being, as he'd been signed onto ESPN to work College GameDay. McAfee also released a stand-up special, "Pat McAfee Uncaged," in 2015.