Pat McAfee hires NFL reporter who was let go by The Athletic

Mark Kaboly wasn’t unemployed for that long.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers beat writer for The Athletic was seemingly unexpectedly let go by the outlet on Aug. 12 but was hired by sports-media personality Pat McAfee just 48 hours later as announced by McAfee on his “Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday.

“We have hired Mark Kaboly,” McAfee said on Wednesday. “I do believe he’s accepted the terms we have sent over. He’s available to have other jobs though, we just get first priority. … This is a public proclamation that Kaboly is going to be A-OK. He’s going to continue covering the Steelers and the NFL as a whole.”

Kaboly, who’s been a frequent guest on McAfee’s show, confirmed the news himself Thursday via X.

McAfee also confirmed he had already been in touch with the Steelers communications department about getting Kaboly credentialed to cover the team again through his show.

In addition to his new gig with McAfee, Kaboly will continue with his Steelers coverage for Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 The Fan.

The Athletic, a New York Times-owned sports giant, has parted ways with several high-profile writers since its $550 million acquisition in January 2022.

In June 2023, the company announced it was laying off 4% of its staff, which included 20 journalists. Another 20 reassigned to new roles within the company. In October 2023, The Athletic also announced it was doing away with its local podcasts, instead focusing on producing audio content that had more national appeal.