Michael Kay shocked WFAN or ESPN New York haven’t offered Mike Francesa a new show

There was a time, not that long ago, when Michael Kay and Mike Francesa were locked in a battle for New York sports radio afternoon supremacy. And while the WFAN legend was the undisputed king of the market for years, the ESPN New York and Yankees announcer finally overtook him in late 2019, right around the time that Francesa was bowing out and leaving the sports talk station he’d helped make famous.

Francesa, who had originally retired in 2017 before returning to WFAN in 2018, announced a second retirement in late 2019 and left the station for good in mid-2020, later saying his comeback was a mistake.

Since then, Francesa has been swimming in that sweet BetRivers money, hosting The Mike Francesa Podcast, and occasionally teasing Mike & The Mad Dog reunions with Chris Russo.

As for Kay (of the 4th-best local MLB broadcast team in our 2026 rankings), his ESPN New York show has evolved over the years, but he’s back to hosting a version by himself weekdays from 1-3 p.m. And while he has mixed feelings about the era when he and Francesa used to go head-to-head, he remains shocked that either WFAN or ESPN New York hasn’t brought him back in some capacity since.

“I have nothing against Mike Francesa,” Kay told Brandon Contes on The Awful Announcing Podcast. “We certainly are different people, and whatever the case may be. I’ve always said the best way I could describe it, if I got to the top of the mountain, I’d be really, really happy I was at the top of the mountain. Mike got to the top of the mountain and decided the best thing to do is to pee down on the people below him. And that’s just not the way I am. But you know what? It worked out great for Mike. Mike’s a legend. And when the history of sports talk radio is written, He’s going to be in the first page. That’s how great he was.

“And I’m still shocked. I know he has the BetRivers thing. I’m still shocked that he doesn’t do a daily radio show because I think his voice is still needed. I think his voice is still valued. And if he wanted to, if either of the radio stations were smart, they’d bring him in for almost like what I do, a two-hour show. And I bet you would get a tremendous amount of traction because he’s a provocateur when it comes to radio. He knows what buttons to push. He’s really, really good.”

Kay added that, back when Francesa was nearing the end of his WFAN run, a two-hour show was frowned upon. However, in the age of podcasts and YouTube videos, it’s a perfectly reasonable amount of time for someone to get their thoughts out and still make it feel fulfilling for audiences.

We can’t imagine the 72-year-old Francesa is champing at the bit to get back to the old-school radio routines, but considering he’s already “retired” three times, never say never.

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