PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates fanbase hasn’t seen much success over the past three decades and there is one person they show that anger towards, even outside of team events.
ESPN College GameDay came to Pittsburgh this past weekend, as No. 22 Pitt vs. No. 9 Notre Dame faced off at Acrisure Stadium for a Week 12 college football game.
College GameDay brings the likes of Pat McAfee, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban across the country every week, going to a different campus and intercating with the home student fan base.
McAfee, who hails from nearby Plum, Pa., about 20 miles east of PNC Park, spoke about the Pirates druing his opening monologue.
He mentioned Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes winning the National League Cy Young Award and almost immediately, the fans in attendance chanted “Sell the Team”, showing their ire towards owner Bob Nutting.
This Pat McAfee monologue is the most the Pittsburgh Pirates have ever been talked about on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/5wRoSb1MXN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 15, 2025College GameDay Becomes Vessel For Displeasure Towards Bob Nutting
While most of the day focused on the top 25 matchup between the Panthers and Fighting Irish, the Pirates came up far more often than expected.
A plane flew above the broadcast in the morning, which had a message reading, “Set Pittsburgh Free, Bob! Sell The Team! H2P!!”.
McAfee himself also criticized Nutting for his lack of spending on the broadcast, wanting him to build a winning baseball team in Pittsburgh.
“Well, what’s going on with the Pirates is that they don’t spend any money so they never actually win you see and we’ve got Paul Skenes so we would like to go on an historic run at PNC Park, the most beautiful ball park in the MLB,” McAfee said.
Nutting Receives Criticism For His Lack of Spending
Nutting has served as the primary owner of the team since 2007 and the Pirates have ranked in the bottom five MLB teams for Opening Day payroll for 16 of those 19 seasons, according to Cot’s Contracts.
Apr 8, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates owner Robert Nutting looks on before the opening day baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The only years the Pirates didn’t have amongst the lowest payroll came in 2015 at $90,053,000 (24th), 2016 at $99,945,500 (20th) and $95,807,004 (24th) in 2017.
Pittsburgh had a $86,464,000 payroll for Opening Day of the 2025 season, which was 26th in the MLB. It was also more than $20 million less than the next team in the National League Central Division, the Milwaukee Brewers, who had a payroll of $108,048,836, seventh lowest in the MLB.
The only teams with lower payrolls last season than the Pirates were the Miami Marlins at $68.9 million, Chicago White Sox at $74 million, the Athletics at $78.2 million and the Tampa Bay Rays at $82.9 million.
The Pirates haven’t signed a free agent position player to a multi-year deal since John Jaso, who signed a two-year, $8 million deal on Dec. 23, 2015, and the last free agent to a multi-year deal since right-handed starting pitcher Iván Nova, who singed a three-year, $26 million deal on Dec. 27, 2016
This lack of spending has seen the Pirates struggle in recent years, last making the playoffs in 2015 and the most recent winning season coming in 2018, the second-longest streaks of any MLB team, with only the Los Angeles Angels having longer streaks.
The Pirates have a record of 1354-1619 (.455) under Nutting, with just three playoff appearances from 2013-15 and four winning seasons in 19 years in charge.
Pittsburgh had a poor campaign in 2025, with a 71-91 record, finishing last in the NL Central Division and possessing the fifth worst record in baseball, which led to fans showing their feelings throughout the season at PNC Park.
This included regular “Sell the team Bob” chants at PNC Park, accosting him on the left field rotunda on Opening Day, previously flying planes with a similar message and even graffiti outside the ballpark.