Why is Craig Carton leaving WFAN? Exploring reasons behind the talk show host's departure 

Popular radio personality Craig Carton is putting an end to his time at WFAN. Carton, who joined the radio station in 2007, officially announced his departure on June 15, taking to the airwaves of WFAN around 1 p.m., which was an hour earlier than usual.

It's been a period of ups and downs for the New York sports media personality over the years. During his on-air appearance, he delivered a lengthy monologue discussing his decision to leave the station to pursue a new career path elsewhere.

“Today is a happy day and a very sad day for me…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."

Carton is set to depart from his current role to secure a lucrative seven-figure deal that will allow him to concentrate solely on his morning program at Fox Sports 1. This will enable him to trash out some personal difficulties and bring him closer to his family.

Craig Carton’s conviction and debt problem

According to Carton, he began his career in Buffalo, earning a modest salary of $12,000 per year, and gradually worked his way up to WFAN over several years. However, he has now secured a seven-figure contract with Fox Sports.

He openly admitted that the circumstances he found himself in, including serving a year in prison for fraud due to substantial gambling debts, left him with limited options. As a result, he decided to pursue a single job that would provide him with more quality time with his family and allow him to focus on repaying his debts.

After completing a prison sentence that began in June 2019, Craig Carton, now 54 years old, made his comeback to WFAN in 2020. He had been convicted on fraud charges related to a counterfeit ticket scam.

As a consequence of his conviction, Carton was mandated to pay restitution amounting to $5 million. The substantial increase in his salary from Fox Sport 1 will enable him to expedite the repayment of this debt.

“It’s not an easy decision. Now that the day has come, it hasn’t gotten any easier. I put myself in a sad place a number of years ago. Three years ago, I was nothing more than a number.”

“I woke up three years ago today in federal prison, where I was for a year based on bad decisions that I made. When I was that number, I dreamt of the possibility of being able to one day start my career. That dream helped me survive prison.”

He noted his role will help him develop more connections with his family after a period that has created some distance. While he was at the prison, he dreamt of reconnecting with his family the same way he dreamt of rebuilding his career.

“For three years, literally the day after I got arrested, I did not live with my family. I did not see my children on a daily basis. As I laid in that bed as nothing more than a number, in addition to dreaming about restarting a professional career, the dream was, how do I restart the connection with my family?"

Without a doubt, the new gig at Fox Sports offers Carton the life he had dreamt of during his period of trials and tribulation. After years of radio rating success, the new paycheck is definitely well-deserved by the veteran media personality.