Retired NFL Quarterback Sues Pat McAfee

Former NFL punter and on-and-off WWE color commentator Pat McAfee has found himself in the unusual position of being sued by legendary former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.

On Thursday, Favre sued McAfee in Lamar County, Mississippi, for defamation, according to The Daily Mail, taking aim at McAfee's comments on his podcast about the ongoing scandal involving misuse of state welfare funds in which Favre and multiple members of pro wrestling's DiBiase family were implicated. (The complaint, as uploaded by A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, can be viewed on DocumentCloud.) Favre did not specify how much money he is seeking in damages.

In the complaint, Favre takes issue with McAfee saying that, among other things, he was "stealing from poor people in Mississippi." It's added that on February 3, before filing the lawsuit, Favre sought an apology and retraction from McAfee, but "McAfee has failed and refused to do so." The complaint makes no reference to the state audit that fingered Favre, despite Favre also suing State Auditor Shad White for defamation on Thursday and having paid back some of the welfare funds. Favre alleges that McAfee's comments constitute "defamation per se" and claims that he was being defamed as a private citizen, an attempt to clear a lower legal hurdle where the only issue is the truthfulness of the statement, not McAfee's knowledge of the truthfulness of the statement.

McAfee has been involved with WWE since 2018, when he became a pre-show analyst for "WWE NXT" Takeover events and got involved in an "NXT" match featuring Adam Cole. McAfee would ultimately begin an onscreen feud with Cole in 2020, spending significant time in "NXT" before moving to "WWE SmackDown" as the brand's color commentator in 2021. McAfee took a hiatus from WWE in September 2022, but returned to call WWE Royal Rumble in January.