Will Mike Francesa play out his contract with WFAN and CBS Radio?
Mike Francesa at his home in Manhasset on Thursday, March 13, 2014. Credit: Chris Ware
When Mike Francesa leaves the air at the end of June for his annual most-of-the-summer hiatus, there will be an even 30 months left on his contract. The most popular parlor game in sports radio is guessing whether he will make it that far.
And the answer is ... well, who knows?
Neither Francesa nor CBS Radio, which owns WFAN, is saying much about it in public these days, beyond the several big hints Francesa dropped on the air in May.
One day he even announced that for the "first time ever" he knows when he is leaving his afternoon drive time show, and "it might be sooner than you think."
But it takes two sides to unwind a contract, and there is no indication a deal is close between Francesa and CBS Radio, which got a new president in Andre Fernandez just two months ago.
It does seem improbable anything will occur before Super Bowl 50, a CBS game the entire company will be expected to get behind. Francesa said on the air he "most likely" will be around for the NFL season. After that, anything could happen.
The one thing that is evident is he would prefer not to play out his contract given his sour relationship with CBS Radio. In April, he told Newsday that relationship is "very poor," "awful" and "terrible" and has "never been worse."
Then, in May, he said this about management on the air: "They are doing a good job of running this place into the ground, as far as I'm concerned."
Whether Francesa leaves in 2016 or at the end of 2017, the station will need a replacement relatively soon. The leading candidates are midday hosts Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts, an idea Francesa endorsed on the air.
"If something happens along those lines with me here, they deserve the first chance," he said. "That's my opinion. It might not carry any water. It probably doesn't.
"The way things are these days it probably carries none. It's probably a detriment."
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
