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Pat McAfee is widely considered as one of the best punters in the NFL, but his career almost fell apart before it even started.
Back in 2010, McAfee was in his second season with the Colts, and he hadn't given up on his partying ways from college. With an influx of money from his NFL contract, McAfee lost all control. From an outside perspective, his actions could've been seen as detrimental to his career. But, according to McAfee, he wouldn't have a career without them.
One night in particular drew headlines six years back, as of yesterday. McAfee was discovered by police in a parking lot. He was completely drenched and shirtless. The last thing he remembers from that evening is buying 100 shots of tequila.
McAfee spent an evening in jail before being greeted by dozens of cameras on his way out. He was immediately driven to the team facility, where the Colts fined and suspended him.
He was beyond embarrassed. From the Indy Star's Zak Keefer:
“I can’t believe I’m that guy,” McAfee told himself.
…
“At that moment, I just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear,” he says now.
Instead, McAfee responded to become an All-Pro for Indianapolis. And, in his mind, his career never would've panned out this well if he hadn't been humbled that evening.
More from Keefer:
“If it wasn’t for that evening, I certainly wouldn’t be in the NFL right now,” he says without hesitation. “I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with how I was living and still perform at a good level.
“It completely changed the course of my life, it really did,” he says. “I was partying pretty hard right then. I was 21, 22, first time having a little money. I had money and it was awesome. (After my rookie year) I could basically do whatever I wanted. I was living, living, living. I just carried that into my second season. I was going out and having a good time, living pretty hard, pretty reckless.”
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“It was really one of those moments,” Pat remembers, “where, hey, you can either go this way or that way.”
After the incident, McAfee entered the league's substance abuse program, and for 27 months, he passed all of the tests.
These days, the partying is only reserved for special occasions. His focus, instead, is on punting. Currently, he's second in the NFL with an average of 50.4 yards per punt, and fourth in net average at 44 yards. The dude can boot the pigskin, and he apparently has a lot of tequila to thank for it.