NYC Sports Radio Host Craig Carton Leaving WFAN Afternoon Show; Former 'Entourage' Star Rumored As Possible Replacement?

In major sports media news, WFAN's Craig Carton will be leaving his afternoon drive radio show to go full time with FS1.

The New York Post reports that Carton's last show on Carton & Roberts will be on June 30th. In September, Carton began hosting The Carton Show in the mornings on FS1, before then doing radio later in the afternoon. The new FS1 move will reportedly pay Carton "in the millions."

In a statement, Carton said his depart had nothing to do with WFAN nor his radio partner Roberts, but rather being able to have more free time for his family.

Craig Carton is leaving WFAN for FS1 full time. (Photo by Lars Niki/Getty Images for BMG )

“Today is a happy day and a very sad day for me, and it’s one of the most difficult days I’ll ever do in radio, because I am leaving WFAN,” Carton said. “I love Evan Roberts. It has nothing to do with Evan Roberts. It has nothing to do with anybody here. It has everything to do with me and my personal life, and the opportunity that I have with Fox Sports to do a show on Fox Sports 1.”

The Post's Andrew Marchand says that the high FS1 salary will allow Carton to pay back a court-ordered $5 million in restitution after serving more than a year in prison over a fraud scandal involving fake concert tickets. At the time, Carton was a co-host on WFAN's Boomer and Carton with Boomer Esiason.

Jerry Ferrara from Entourage is in contention to replace Craig Carton on WFAN. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

WHO WILL REPLACE?

WFAN is perhaps the most iconic sports station in the country - having had shows from Imus in the Morning, to Mike and the Mad Dog, as well as a plethora of sport broadcasting greats.

The New York City afternoon drive slot is a coveted one, and whoever replaces Carton will have a tough competition against ESPN New York's The Michael Kay Show.

Although there's been no confirmation who will replace Carton, or if the person coming in will continue to be a cohost with Roberts, Bovada already has the odds out on who could likely replace Craig in just a few weeks, and it even includes Turtle from Entourage!

Tiki Barber -115

Jerry Ferrara (Turtle from Entourage) -110

Boomer Esiason +600

Kevin Clancy (KFC from Barstool Sports) +950

Keith McPherson +1500

Sal Licata +2000

WFAN IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SPORTS STATIONS IN THE COUNTRY

It will be interesting to see who WFAN does end up replacing Carton with. Of the above choices, Tiki Barber is already within the family - hosting Tiki & Tierney from 10am-2pm every day. It's unclear if Barstool Sports would allow KFC to host a WFAN show, and Boomer Esiason moving from mornings to afternoons also seems like a stretch. Both McPherson and Licata are also WFAN hosts as well.

Bovada does have Turtle listed with the second best odds, leaving some to believe he may very well have a legitimate shot.

As for Carton, the Post reports that there may be an opportunity for FS1 to simulcast his morning show on radio as well.