Total Pro Sports
Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee called the death of team owner Jim Irsay “devastating” in a social media post when the shocking news came down.
Hundreds of mourners filled the pews at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on Indianapolis’ northside to attend a memorial service for the Colts Owner.
Prior to the noon service, friends and family streamed into the church.
Ex-Colts Adam Vinatieri and Pat McAfee were there. Bruce Arians and politicians who negotiated with Irsay to provide for and keep his Colts in Indianapolis were also in attendance.
It was a two-hour service that went extremely well.
Pat McAfee, who played for the Colts between 2009 and 2016, paid tribute to Irsay following the service.
‘Rest easy, Big Man… Today was beautiful.. We celebrated the hell out of you,’ McAfee wrote alongside a picture showing a card and booklet from the service.
Rest easy Big Man…
Today was beautiful.. We celebrated the hell out of you @JimIrsay pic.twitter.com/Qrzzw0Ziub
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 2, 2025
Jim Irsay started his football career as a ball boy and finished it as a team owner. It all came to an end last month.
Irsay’s remarkable journey ended at age 65. Pete Ward, Irsay’s longtime right-hand man, made the announcement in a statement, saying Irsay died peacefully in his sleep.
Irsay had held sole ownership of the Colts since 1997, a part of the franchise since the mid-1980s, and was along the ride for some of the team’s most historic moments in team history.
One of those close to Irsay, former Indianapolis kicker and media personality Pat McAfee, had nothing short of fond memories of him.
McAfee released a statement on his X account after the announcement of Irsay’s passing:
“Jim had friendships with a lot of his former players.. I was lucky to be one of them.
Playing for a team that Mr Irsay ran was an honor. He was funny, brilliant, unique, and somehow still wildly relatable for a man who became the sole owner of an NFL team at the age of 37.. and before that, hired as the youngest general manager in the history of the league as a 24 year old.
He battled his demons, as we all do, but God blessed Jim Irsay with an abundance of compassion.. he wanted to give back/help everybody and everything he saw or knew about… putting a list together of all of the causes/things/people that he’s given to would be an impossible task.. probably well over $100,000,000.. there was even a whale about to get an assist from Jim at one point.
The 1st time he and I really had an extended convo was at training camp after the lockout in 2011.. players and front office weren’t allowed to communicate with each other during the lockout, but Jim followed me on Twitter throughout the CBA negotiations.....
