WFAN host Boomer Esiason headed to the National Radio Hall of Fame

Boomer Esiason has made it to the Hall of Fame.

The National Radio Hall of Fame.

The longtime WFAN morning show host was named as one of eight inductees on Thursday.

Esiason, the former NFL quarterback, joins WFAN alumni such as Don Imus, Mike Francesa, Chris Russo and Suzyn Waldman in the radio Hall.

“I never thought in my wildest dream 19 years ago when I started here that that was going to be part of this,” Esiason said on the air on Thursday while thanking many of his past and current cohorts.

“It’s due in large part to a lot of people,” Esiason said before mentioning Joel Hollander, the executive who brought him to WFAN for “Mike and the Mad Dog” spots when he was playing with the Jets.

“[Hollander] thought of me way back in 1993 when I came here as the Jet quarterback and put me on with Mike and Chris at 5 o’clock in the afternoon,” Esiason said. “When he took over Westwood One, he put me in the Monday Night [Football] booth and gave me an opportunity to do Monday night games and Super Bowls and then of course when they called me in 2007 and paired me up with Craig [Carton].

“I’ve had great teammates and this is a great place. I love the job. Been very fortunate to be able to sit in this chair and love every minute of it and hopefully people have enjoyed most of it.”

The Hall over the years has honored broadcasters from all genres of radio. Past inductees include baseball announcers Red Barber and Vin Scully, sports talk hosts Colin Cowherd and Jim Rome, former U.S. presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, and comedians Groucho Marx and Howard Stern.

The induction ceremony for the class of 2026 will be held on Oct. 8 in Chicago.

Esiason, who had a 14-year NFL career, was a candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the senior category in 2025 but did not make it to the final round.

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.