ESPN expands Friday college football lineup with Josh Pate, Will Compton and Taylor Lewan
ESPN is building a new Friday college football franchise around Josh Pate and "Bussin' With the Boys" hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, with the three set to broadcast from a different campus each week starting this fall. The deal expands Pate's existing arrangement with the network. He retains full ownership of his independent media company and his flagship "Josh Pate's College Football Show."
Key takeaways
- ESPN is launching a new Friday college football show built around Josh Pate and 'Bussin' With the Boys' hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, broadcasting from a different campus each week starting this fall.
- The arrangement expands Pate's existing ESPN deal while he retains full ownership of his independent media company and his 'Josh Pate's College Football Show.'
- A sports media agent named Pat McAfee, Laura Rutledge, Peter Schrager and Josh Pate as the four people ESPN plans to build around.
- Pate's independent business runs on five or six revenue streams: YouTube AdSense, programmatic revenue, brand deals, merchandise, public speaking and talent deals.
- Pate said he once earned $27,000 a year and was eventually evicted from his home before becoming one of the pillars ESPN is building around.
ESPN is building a new Friday college football franchise around Josh Pate and "Bussin' With the Boys" hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, with the three set to broadcast from a different campus each week starting this fall. The deal expands Pate's existing arrangement with the network. He retains full ownership of his independent media company and his flagship "Josh Pate's College Football Show."
The network's wider posture is in focus. A top sports media agent, in a text relayed to Pate during an interview with OutKick, named four people ESPN plans to build around: Pat McAfee, Laura Rutledge, Peter Schrager and Pate. Pate described McAfee as someone who created wealth and success for hundreds and thousands of others simply by existing, a figure he placed in a category of once-in-a-generation industry movers. He called Rutledge "a living, breathing angel." As for the format choice, Pate said a Friday in a college town carries a "rising action vibe" unlike any other day, and the show was built to sit inside that energy.
The independent business
Pate's operation outside of ESPN runs on five or six primary revenue streams, by his own count: YouTube AdSense, programmatic revenue, brand deals, merchandise, public speaking and talent deals, with the ESPN arrangement in that last bucket. He described merchandise as its own bucket and told OutKick the company generates meaningful volume there. He also said he turns down sponsorship opportunities he considers overexposing.
The career context: Pate said he was once earning $27,000 a year and was eventually evicted from his home. That same sports media agent now places him among four pillars ESPN is building toward.
What to watch
The campus show is set to debut this fall. On a longer horizon, Pate said he has spent the past year working toward a storm-chasing and weather media vertical, spending between 15 and 30 days each spring on the road. He said the plan is something he expects "will not be a hypothetical for long." He noted he is not a degreed meteorologist and would not expect to be the face of such a project.
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Filed by the newsroom of MarketPR on August 15, 2026. Source: foxnews.com. Indicative figures are not investment advice.