Pat McAfee (Imagn Images)
Pat McAfee retired from the NFL at 29, walked away from a $14.5 million contract with two years still on it, and never once looked for the exit out of Indianapolis. His five-bedroom, 10,655-square-foot mansion on E. 75th Street is worth around $1.6 million today. 75th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46236, in Lawrence, a township on the city’s northeast side. He acquired the property in 2014 for under a million dollars. Currently, the estate is appraised at around $1.8 million and sits on nearly 12 picturesque acres. The address is 7551 Oaklandon Road, Indianapolis. McAfee announced his retirement from the Colts on February 2, 2017, at 29 years old, with two years remaining on his five-year, $14.5 million contract.
He made the announcement on Comedy Central and said he planned to work for Barstool Sports. His media studio sits in a converted United Methodist Church barely minutes away on Oaklandon Road. He did not drift back to Pennsylvania, where he grew up. He did not chase Los Angeles or New York. He stayed, and the city gave him everything back. McAfee’s home sits at E. The Thunderdome is McAfee’s production headquarters. It occupies a former church and houses three studios, two control rooms, a lounge, locker rooms, and a compressed NBA basketball court. Health had become a serious factor. He was heading into his third knee surgery in four years. He also acknowledged a strained relationship with then-Colts general manager Ryan Grigson. The choice of Comedy Central as the announcement platform was itself a statement. McAfee had spent multiple offseasons doing stand-up comedy across Indiana.
The media path was already forming before the cleats came off.
In eight seasons with the Colts, McAfee was named a First-Team All-Pro in 2014 and made two Pro Bowls, in 2014 and 2016. The football career was legitimately excellent. What followed was a different kind of game entirely. How did Pat McAfee build a media empire after the NFL?