Jarrett Payton joins 104.3 The Score as new morning co-host

He’ll sit opposite David Haugh; Payton left WGN-TV last month

As speculated this weekend, David Haugh’s new co-host in morning drive on Audacy-owned 104.3 The Score (WSCR) is Jarrett Payton, the former WGN-TV sportscaster who departed the Nexstar-owned station nearly four weeks ago. Payton replaces Mike Mulligan, who was fired last Friday after more than a decade at the station.

The new Haugh & Payton show premieres next Monday, August 31 – nine days before the NFL season is officially set to kickoff. 

The shift from a nightly television role to a radio one is rare; current 104.3 The Score midday co-host Leila Rahimi was also a sports anchor at NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) while maintaining her TV gig, but she gave up her daily role (cut back to just one appearance a week) at the sports talk station when she was promoted to a full-time a sports anchor after only appearing on Sports Sunday. Rahimi was later dropped by NBC 5, but resumed her daily presence on The Score in April 2025.

This is Payton’s first full-time radio gig. 

“I’m truly excited and deeply honored to join the team at The Score”, said Payton in a press release. “I’m looking forward to working alongside everyone there and connecting with the loyal listeners who make this station what it is. This place has always felt like family to me. My dad graced these airwaves back in the ’90s, and the thought of being part of that same legacy means everything. Grateful beyond words for this opportunity. Let’s get to work.”

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for The Score,” added WSCR vice president Mitch Rosen. “We’re excited to welcome Jarrett Payton and believe his experience, perspective and deep connection to Chicago and its great fan bases will be a tremendous addition to our morning show alongside David Haugh.”

As the son of Bears legendary running back Walter Payton, he played football at the University of Miami, then for the Tennessee Titans and in the CFL before transforming into broadcasting, where he joined CLTV’s Sports Desk in 2015, then joined WGN-TV’s news team after CLTV closed in 2019. 

In 2020, WGN launched GN Sports, a late-night sports wrap-up show with Payton being paired with Dan Roan. The show has held its own in the ratings opposite late-night talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert, whose show has since been replaced by Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed. Payton also appeared on WGN’s prime-time streaming show The Sports Office.

Payton’s departure from WGN came six months after Nexstar laid off staff at its big-market local stations with nine let go at WGN (one of those names – Chris Boden – has since returned to partially fill the departure left by Payton.) While Payton stated he wanted to “spend more than with his family”, he may have seen the handwriting on the wall with the Nexstar layoffs and his soon-to-expire contract. As everyone knows, television journalism is subtracting employees, not adding them as evidence by the 250+ layoffs at Scripps earlier this month as they pivot more toward AI. Payton let it be known he did not want another television gig at another local station, stating he was open to working with WGN down the road, so he left on good terms. 

But is Payton’s shift to radio a good move? Radio is notorious for regular cutbacks over the last two decades as layoffs lists have become common in the medium. Two weeks ago, Cumulus announced it was cutting staff at its stations, including staff at an entire hip-hop station in Kansas City – including the format itself. Audacy could use Payton in other roles with the company (perhaps as a podcaster, which is a rapidly expanding medium), as he is more nationally recognizably known nationally as he and his sister Brittany are at the NFL Honors every year presenting the Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award and hosted football-related specials syndicated exclusively to Nexstar stations. 

But as we all know, media companies are looking to consolidate, which means tons of cutbacks to pay off the debt incurred (Nexstar is in the process of buying rival broadcaster Tegna, but the transaction is on hold due to antitrust issues.) Payton trading one declining medium for another sounds crazy where job security is even worse, but hey, we’ve all got to eat.