WATCH: ESPN Drops Tribute to Dead Co-Founder Mid-Sentence as It Cuts to The Pat McAfee Show

ESPN dumped out of its coverage in the middle of a tribute for network co-founder Bill Rasmussen, who died on Tuesday at age 93, switching instead to The Pat McAfee Show.

“Some sad news to report on First Take,” host Courtney Cronin began as she announced the news of Rasmussen’s death.

The First Take panel then took turns thanking Rasmussen and discussing the impact of his work in starting ESPN.

“His legacy lives on,” Cronin continued. “We’ll-”

The broadcast then cut out, switching right to Pat McAfee’s booming declaration of, “Hello, beautiful people, and welcome to our humble abode, the Draft Kings Thunderdome, on this big ball Tuesday, August 18, 2026. This sports program begins nowww… FOOTBALL!”

Rasmussen, who started the 24-hour sports network with his son Scott Rasmussen in 1979, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease.

“Bill was a remarkable man — a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement to the Associated Press. “Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for Bill’s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s — key aspects of our company culture that still carry on to this day.”

Rasmussen had a tumultuous relationship with ESPN after he was forced out just a year after its debut, but he re-embraced the network when he was invited to 20th anniversary festivities in 1999, the AP reported. He published a book about his experience, Sports Junkies Rejoice: The Birth of ESPN, in 2010.

He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame last year.

Watch above via ESPN.

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