Pat McAfee’s resume just got a little bit bigger, and in a way, he couldn’t have timed it any better. Hours after he shut the door on a WWE return, ESPN dropped an announcement of its own – a press release that outlined the roster for its Sunday and Monday NFL coverage. Per that press release, McAfee is now a part of Monday Night Countdown.

“Monday Night Countdown returns as the two-hour Monday Night Football pregame show (6-8 p.m., ESPN), and for the first time, will be available on NFL Network this season,” the press release read. “Host Scott van Pelt is back alongside returning analysts [Jason] Kelce and Marcus Spears, with new additions Pat McAfee and Jason McCourty. Additionally, [Kurt] Warner will periodically join Monday Night Countdown on-site for select segments throughout the season.”

Being an analyst on Monday’s pregame show on top of his existing roles with the network will give him the perfect leverage for that new deal. As for ESPN, their decision had a very straightforward reasoning – football experience.

“The show’s core four former NFL players – Kelce, Spears, McCourty and McAfee – bring a combined 43 NFL seasons, two Super Bowl championships, nine Pro Bowl selections and seven First-Team All-Pro honors,” the press release added. “Together, they pair championship pedigrees and decorated playing careers with distinct personalities and insightful analysis. McAfee’s new role expands his prominent presence across ESPN, where he hosts The Pat McAfee Show and serves as an analyst on College GameDay Built by The Home Depot.”

Get the EssentiallySports Daily Newsletter. Stay ahead of the game with daily updates, exclusive stories, expert takes, and the biggest moments from the world's most popular sports.

But before the role went to McAfee, he first had to say goodbye to something he had been a part of for almost a decade – wrestling. And what happened at WrestleMania 42 back in April was the perfect backdrop for this transition.

Leading up to WrestleMania 42, McAfee served as the manager for the 46-year-old pro wrestler Randy Orton. Ahead of the event, McAfee put everything on the line and vowed to leave WWE if Orton lost to champion Cody Rhodes. At the event, things didn’t go as smoothly as McAfee had hoped.

Pat McAfee was attacked by Cody Rhodes before the match began. Jelly Roll even hammered him with an elbow drop that broke the commentator’s table, sending McAfee to the stretcher. Once the match was underway, McAfee ran back in the ring wearing a referee’s shirt complete with a neck brace after the real ref had been knocked out.

He slid into the ring to count a pin for Orton against Rhodes, but Rhodes got his shoulder up before the count finished. Orton wasn’t happy, as he turned on McAfee shortly afterward to deliver an RKO. Rhodes won the match, McAfee lost his bet, and with it, his WWE career. Later, on The Pat McAfee Show, he paid a homage to his journey with WWE and made it official.

“It’s been a hell of a run. Thank you, wrestling. It was an honor to be over there,” McAfee said on his show.

But wrestling’s a never-say-never sport, and McAfee had hinted at walking away from WWE once before this as well. Many were still skeptical because of his friendship with TKO Executive Chairman Ari Emmanuel. After all, it was Emmanuel who inserted McAfee into the WrestleMania 42 narrative to boost ticket sales and media coverage.

But when McAfee conducted a Q&A session through his Instagram stories, a fan asked whether it was in the cards for him to come back next year. McAfee shut it down with a video message.

“If Randy would’ve won, maybe,” McAfee said. “But I made a promise that I would never ever be seen on WWE television ever again. And Cody Rhodes won; he is the one. Wow! What a dog he turned out to be. Maybe he was the right one all along. … But no, wrestling fans can sleep soundly understanding that I will never be back over there.”

Now with this chapter officially closed, Pat McAfee has his brand new Monday Night Countdown role to look forward to. With just a few more weeks till the regular season kicks off, it’ll be interesting to see how McAfee’s unfiltered energy impacts football Mondays.