Pete Davidson says he is ‘ready to hang up the jersey’ on Saturday Night Live

After delivering a farewell-style address which sparked speculation he may be leaving Saturday Night Live for good last weekend, Pete Davidson says he is ‘ready to hang up the jersey’ after seven seasons on the show.  

Multiple SNL cast members have been at the center of departure rumors, and Pete did not skirt around the subject when asked about his career during a roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter.

‘Yeah, I’m good,’ Pete, 27, said when asked about potentially remaining on the show for as long as Kenan Thompson, who has been on SNL for 18 seasons. ‘I’m surprised I made it to seven. I’m ready to hang up the jersey. Kenan’s like f**kin’ Karl Malone out there.’ 

Pete’s future on the show came under the microscope last weekend when he appeared on the Weekend Update with a message somewhat resembling a farewell address.

‘I’m very grateful to be here, and it’s been an honor to grow up in front of you guys,’ he told audiences.

This isn’t the first time Pete has discussed leaving the show.  

‘I personally think I should be done with that show because they make fun of me on it,’ he said in an interview on Live Your Truth: An Honest Conversation With Charlamagne Tha God last year. 

‘It’s been an honor’: Pete’s future on the show came under the microscope last weekend when he appeared on the Weekend Update with a message somewhat resembling a farewell address

‘I’ve done as much as I can over there’: Davidson discussed leaving SNL in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God last year

‘I feel like, yeah, I’ve done as much as I can over there,’ he also said.

Pete said he had already spoken with people including SNL vet Adam Sandler about potentially stepping away.

‘You don’t ever want to pull the trigger too early,’ Pete said. ‘Everybody’s always been like, “You’ll know when you know, and it’ll be all right.”‘ 

It is not just Pete who is believed to be leaving SNL, with Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, and Kenan Thompson also sparking speculation they were on their way out during the season finale of the show last weekend. 

He’s a crack-up! Davidson appearing in a sketch with Drake in 2016 episode of SNL

Now with many of these cast members committing to other projects outside of SNL, a departure only makes sense.

Kenan is returning for season two of his eponymous sitcom while Cecily has been filming the upcoming Apple TV+ series Schmigadoon! in Vancouver, according to Esquire. 

Kate, who has been on the show for nine years, evaded a question about returning next season during a recent interview with Variety.

‘Umm, gosh, it’s April. It’s early, and I really love working there, and I really love everyone who works there, so we will see,’ she told the publication.

Are they next? It is not just Pete who is believed to be leaving SNL, with Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, and Kenan Thompson also fueling speculation they are on their way out during the season finale of the show last weekend