What is Craig Carton's Net Worth and Salary?
Craig Carton is an American sports talk-show radio personality who has a net worth of -$4 million.
Craig Carton is known for his hosting gigs on such programs as "Carton and Roberts," "The Carton Show," and "Boomer and Carton." During its decade-long run, "Boomer and Carton" became the most-listened-to show in the history of New York's WFAN radio.
On September 6, 2017, Craig Carton was arrested by the FBI in relation to an alleged $5.6 million ticket scam fraud. Carton allegedly duped investors out of $5.6 million to cover "staggering gambling debts". Court papers showed that Carton had millions of dollars of debt with two casinos plus $825,000 in debt to one individual. Carton allegedly provided fake documents to investors that pitched a fraudulent ticket resale business.
Craig returned to WFAN after serving a year in prison. In 2023 Carton signed a reportedly very large contract to move from WFAN to Fox Sports 1. A portion of his salary will be used to pay off his restitution debts.
Salary
At the peak of his career in radio he could earn as much as $2 million per year. More recently, before his downfall, he was earning around $1 million per year. It's unclear how much he will make from Fox Sports 1. The salary has been described as "massive."
Early Life and Education
Craig Carton was born on January 31, 1969 in New Rochelle, New York. As a teenager, he went to New Rochelle High School. While a student there, Carton did play-by-play announcing for a number of high school sporting events in Westchester County. For his higher education, he attended the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, from which he earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism in 1991.
Broadcasting Career
Carton launched his professional broadcasting career in 1991 at WGR radio in Buffalo, New York. After that, he worked at WWWE in Cleveland, Ohio, and then at WIP in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On the latter station, Carton served as a weekend host nicknamed "The Kid," and also filled in on the morning-drive show. He went on to move west to Denver, Colorado, where he worked at KKFN 950 AM. Carton's morning show on the station was an instant sensation, making him the highest-rated host in KKFN's history. He subsequently filled the morning slot on KBPI, hosting the top-rated local morning show in the market. In late 2000, Carton replaced Scott Kaplan on WNEW-FM's morning program "Sports Guys." During his one-year tenure there, he took the show in a new direction by adding goofy stunts. In the summer of 2002, Carton became a co-host of "The Jersey Guys" on WKXW in New Jersey. The program received a Marconi Award nomination as the top mid-market talk show in the nation.
In 2007, Carton left WKXW to join New York's WFAN, where he became Boomer Esiason's co-host on the morning-drive sports radio program "Boomer and Carton." Within a year, the show reached number one in the Arbitron ratings for male listeners between the ages of 25 and 54. It eventually became the most-listened-to show in WFAN history. During its run, "Boomer and Carton" was simulcast on the MSG Network from 2010 to 2013 and on the CBS Sports Network beginning in 2014. The program was nominated for multiple Marconi Awards and won several Cynopsis Media Awards. Carton resigned from the show in 2017 following his arrest and subsequent charges for securities and wire fraud. Returning to WFAN in late 2020 after serving a year in prison, he began co-hosting the afternoon-drive show "Carton and Roberts" with Evan Roberts. Early the next year, he began hosting the Saturday morning program "Hello, My Name is Craig," and in 2022 started hosting "The Carton Show" on Fox Sports 1 on weekday mornings. In mid-2023, Carton left WFAN to focus on his Fox Sports 1 program.
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Arrest and Conviction
In September of 2017, Carton was arrested by federal agents at his New York City home on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Along with others, he was accused of defrauding investors of $4.8 million by falsely claiming that he had access to millions of dollars of face-value concert tickets via nonexistent agreements with concert promoters. A parallel civil complaint filed by the SEC alleged that Carton had used some of the funds from a ticket investor for gambling, and only purchased the tickets he declared he had at a later date.
After a week-long trial in November of 2018, Carton was convicted of fraud in Manhattan federal court. In April the next year, he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, and was ordered to make restitution of $4.8 million. Carton reported to the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg in June. One year later, he was released from prison to a halfway house, and then to home confinement. Carton was made eligible for release due to his completion of a 500-hour cognitive behavioral therapy course while in prison. He was finally released from federal custody in June of 2021.
Personal Life
In 1999, Carton married businesswoman Kim. Together, they have four children: daughter Mickey and sons Sonny, Lucky, and Anthony.
