PFT Commenter

PFT Commenter (alternatively spelled PFTCommenter or Pro Football Talk Commenter), is a fictional character portrayed by Eric Sollenberger who is a sportswriter who covers the National Football League and US politics for online publication Barstool Sports. He has previously been published on other sports sites including Kissing Suzy Kolber, SBNation, Football Savages, as well as his own site, StrongTakes.com. PFT Commenter, whose name references Profootballtalk.com, mimics the "macho posturing and racism," or "hot takes," in the website's comment sections. PFT Commenter is currently the co-host of the Barstool Sports podcast, Pardon My Take.

His writing style is characterized by "didactic misspelling, erratic punctuation, barely veiled racism, not-quite-latent homophobia, conspiratorial anxiety, and arrogant disdain for critical thought" and the character is "dumb on purpose", earning a comparison to the Stephen Colbert character on The Colbert Report with his ability to "undermine the league’s resident apologists and party-liners." PFT Commenter often overpraises white players for their blue-collar attitudes, criticizes black players for being selfish and overrated, and “eagerly takes the truth-y NFL party line on every possible issue”. In response to criticisms of his poor spelling, he wrote, "Im on record that I dont care about spelling, I care about TELLING."

Sollenberger began to use the PFT Commenter alias as a commenter on ProFootballTalk.com before starting the @PFTCommenter Twitter account in 2012 and eventually becoming a contributor for SBNation, Kissing Suzy Kolber and Football Savages.

In September 2015, PFT Commenter made an appearance on Mike Florio's PFT Live radio program. Also in 2015, PFT Commenter began commenting on the 2016 United States presidential election and appeared on camera several times, albeit in the background, during the television coverage of the Republican Party presidential debates. PFT Commenter also asked then-Presidential candidate Ben Carson if he would travel back in time to abort an unborn Adolf Hitler, an exchange covered by the national media, leading to the headline, "Ben Carson would not abort Baby Hitler." on CNN.com

PFT Commenter moved to Barstool Sports in March 2016 and started the podcast Pardon My Take along with co-host Dan Katz. The podcast, which is often satirical in nature, has grown to a top ranking on iTunes' "Sports and Recreation" list. In May 2016, PFT Commenter accompanied three other co-workers on a so-called "Grit Week," starting in Buffalo and ending in Indianapolis for the Indianapolis 500.He and Katz also made an appearance on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt on February 8, 2017.

Despite the National Football League removing press credentials for Barstool Sports, PFT sneaked into "Opening Night" for Super Bowl LI in Houston and was able to ask questions to players and coaches.

PFT Commenter makes regular call-in appearances on Bomani Jones' ESPN radio show The Right Time.

Despite his popularity, PFT has not publicly revealed his identity. He told Awful Announcing in 2017 that he wore sunglasses on camera to avoid identification and the staff at Barstool Sports referred to him as "PFT", as only half knew his real name. He said that his identity had become an "open secret" and that it would be found out eventually.

In May 2018, an article by Deadspin revealed that PFT Commenter was played by Eric Sollenberger.

As PFT Commenter, Sollenberger wrote the self-published e-book, Goodell vs. Obama: The Battle for the Future of the NFL, which imagines a dystopian future in which President Barack Obama attempts to turn the Dallas Cowboys into a soccer team in Kenya, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell fights him in a boxing match to stop him.