Pat McAfee has spent years building a career around being unpredictable. So, a move into music probably should not have come as a huge surprise. The former NFL All-Pro punter has now released his first full-length album, ‘The Diary of a Polarizing Figure’, but six-time Grammy winner Gino Borri is barely excited about it.

If anything, Borri went after the project, joining the growing criticism surrounding McAfee’s first major music release.

“The whole internet’s jumping on ’em and dogpiling on ’em, and I will be no different. I will absolutely punch this man while he’s down. This album is horrible,” Borri said on social media.

He compared the songs to music that could be used during a college football broadcast before a commercial break.

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“It’s like every song is like a college game day transition to commercial type beat.”

He felt the project leaned too heavily into the same sports-heavy image that has followed McAfee throughout his career.

But there is a reason McAfee made the album in the first place. The sports media personality has said songwriting has been part of his life for around two decades.

When announcing the album, McAfee explained that he had been writing about his experiences and the way people have viewed him for years. He wanted the finished project to give his children a clearer picture of who he was beyond the headlines and public opinions surrounding him.

The album was put together in Nashville with help from country artist ERNEST and other musicians. It mixes country and rap influences, with McAfee drawing inspiration from artists such as Jelly Roll, Post Malone, and Shaboozey. The 14-track project runs for roughly 42 minutes and marks a very different kind of release for someone best known for sports broadcasting.

Before becoming a major sports media personality, he was a professional NFL punter for the Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis selected him in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he went on to make two Pro Bowls and earn first-team All-Pro honors in 2014. He retired from football in 2017 and eventually turned his attention to broadcasting.

That second career has grown into The Pat McAfee Show, while McAfee has also become a regular part of ESPN’s college football coverage through College GameDay. His media career has made him one of the most recognizable personalities in sports, which also means his decision to release music was always going to attract plenty of attention.

Borri made that point in his own way. After criticizing the album, he questioned how far McAfee has moved from his original sports identity.

“Yeah, you remember when this channel was about sports?” he said, before adding, “This man is ESPN now. McAfee SPN.”

Whether McAfee’s music career becomes a one-off experiment or another long-term project, the debut has already done what its title promised: it has given people plenty to argue about.