Pat McAfee Reportedly Urged to Wear a Bulletproof Vest (Getty Images)
The report, published Tuesday, says the advice came the week after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University in September 2025. Two days later, McAfee, 39, took it up on his show. Kirk was killed about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, a little over a year ago. The network that pays him $30 million a year knows it.
Front Office Sports reported that the FBI told McAfee to consider a bulletproof vest the week after Kirk’s death.
Pat McAfee was reportedly told by the FBI to consider wearing a bulletproof vest on college campuses, according to Front Office Sports. It surfaced days after McAfee said he felt uneasy at College GameDay in Salt Lake City, where the University of Utah had posted a video of students poking fun at him. ESPN says it takes the threats seriously. “Did not enjoy University of Utah,” he said. “I thought to myself, has anything, like, really scary happened at a college gathering in the state of Utah recently?” he said. “I have a lot of things that are very hatable about me, I can certainly understand that,” he said. Its sources said he regularly gets threatening messages, including death threats.
The school has since apologized. The FBI declined to comment to PEOPLE. His main complaint was the timing. “The university puts that out? Like as I’m about to go out and do an infomercial for the place?” he asked. He added that if students had posted it on their own blogs, he would have been okay with it. He did not pretend to be above the jokes. What bothered him was the setting. “I was very, very uncomfortable. The FBI declined to comment when PEOPLE reached out, so the vest advice rests on those unnamed sources.
A spokesperson said the network takes safety seriously “given the very real threats that members of our team face. “We sincerely apologize for creating any perception that Pat was unsafe or unwelcome on our campus,” the school said. It also admitted “we missed the mark” and said the university takes full accountability for posting it.
ESPN did not push back on that picture. The statement closed with a line of backing for its host: “We support Pat and recognize the very real and valid concerns he has around safety and security. Utah responded with an apology. The video has since been deleted.