NYC Radio: Mike Francesa Mulls Next Move

Mike Francesa will become an unrestricted media free agent effective at midnight Friday.

Even though Francesa’s final show on WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM was in July of 2020 – when he ended what had been a limited role on the station – he has remained under contract to Audacy, WFAN’s parent company

He was limited in what he could do on other outlets and has turned down most requests to appear even as a radio guest, reports Newsday's Neil Best.

The limited exceptions have included a couple of mini-reunions with his former partner, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, on SiriusXM. He also appeared on WFAN to wish departing former colleagues Joe Benigno and Steve Somers well.

But now, at 67, he is plotting his next media move, free to do as he wishes. Two things he said he will not do: Work full-time anywhere, or work in any capacity at WFAN.

It is not that he has ill will toward his former station. He considers himself a FAN lifer. But that ship has sailed.

"I have no interest in going backward," he said. "My time at the FAN is done. My story at WFAN is written. That wouldn’t interest me . . . I’d like to see the people there get opportunities."

Francesa left Audacy on good terms but has acknowledged regrets about his messy final act, including a return to the station in May of 2018, four months after an elaborate farewell that lasted most of 2017.

He left his full-time job again after 2019 and spent the first half of 2020 with a limited presence on Radio.com and WFAN before departing altogether.

Since then, his public sharing of sports opinions mostly has been limited to his Twitter account.

"From a FAN standpoint, to me, the book is closed," Francesa said. "But that doesn’t mean I still don’t feel like broadcasting. I’ve missed the audience. I’ve missed the buzz. I’ve missed some of that. It’s just logical."

Now anything goes. So what will it be, if not WFAN?

Francesa said he has had offers but is focused on something "that would be fun or gives me a chance to have a new experience . . . Maybe I’ll surprise somebody and do something that would surprise me."

Time marches on, in life and on radio. WFAN has undergone a significant generational shift over the past two years, to the point Francesa said he sometimes does not recognize the voices he hears on the station.