Pat McAfee Steps Away From WWE SmackDown Commentary Role

Pat McAfee will be stepping away from the SmackDown announce desk for the time being, in order to pursue a new, non-WWE role.

The New York Post reported on Tuesday that McAfee is set to join ESPN's College GameDay as a full-time member of the show. College GameDay airs live every Saturday morning during college football season. The outlet originally reported that McAfee would juggle both responsibilities.

However, McAfee stated on last night's episode of The Pat McAfee Show that WWE felt it was better for his health and family if he focused on the new opportunity (even though he wanted to do both).

McAfee tweeted that "SmackDAHN will be on hold for a little bit while I do College GameDay..I'm still VERY much in the WWE family & will still be doing things with WWE".

Paul 'Triple H' Levesque followed that by tweeting: "@PatMcAfeeShow approached us about his amazing opportunity with College GameDay. We'd never stand in Pat's way, as he continues to architect his exceptional career. Pat will remain a member of the @WWE Universe and we look forward to his return. #UpToSomethingSZN". 

McAfee signed a multi-year contract extension with WWE in July.