Former WFAN stars Sal Licata and John Jastremski join forces for new sports media start-up

It didn’t take long for it to come out where Sport Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina would end up next after he announced on Wednesday that he would be leaving the publication. 

Traina, along with former WFAN hosts Sal Licata and John Jastremski, are launching a new sports media start-up, Front Office Sports reported on Thursday. 

While details are limited about the new venture, Traina did say on social media that he will begin a weekly podcast alongside Licata beginning in early September.

John Jastremski speaks on SiriusXM at Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 7, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Getty Images for SiriusXM

The venture unites two well-known local sports media personalities, in Jastremski and Licata, and one of the better-known sports media reporters in Traina. 

Licata was on the WFAN airwaves during the midday hours when he was partnered with Brandon Tierney until last year when the show was canceled as Craig Carton returned to the all-sports talk station. 

Jastremski left WFAN in 2021 to join The Ringer and hosted the “New York, New York” podcast until he and the publication parted ways earlier this year. 

Licata and Jastremski had recently launched the “New York Sports Rush” podcast together on the BetRivers Network. 


A man in a navy polo shirt with an SNY logo and a green-faced watch speaks into a microphone.
Sal Licata speaks onstage at Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 at the Javits Center in New York City on June 21, 2025. Getty Images for Fanatics

Licata has also been continuing to build his digital show on YouTube and he had been a contributor on the “SI Media” podcast that Traina hosted. 

Traina announced in a statement on Wednesday that he would be departing Sports Illustrated. 

“After 20+ years, I have made the difficult decision to leave Sports Illustrated. It’s time for me to do something different & evolve with the changing sports media landscape,” he wrote. “I will always be grateful to Sl for all of the opportunities and a life-changing run. I will talk about my time at SI on this week’s ‘SI Media With Jimmy Traina’ and write my final column on Friday.

“More to come very soon on what’s next (I’ll still be covering sports media) and I won’t be on the sidelines for long. Hopefully you will continue to support me the way you have during my many years at Sl. Unfortunately, you will need to subscribe to a new podcast.”

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