Boomer Esiason’s list of accolades is lengthy: NFL MVP, First-Team All-Pro, 4x Pro Bowl selection, and Walter Payton Man of Year recipient. The latter, which highlights a player’s volunteer and charity work, has been one of the main focuses of Boomer’s post-playing career.
A member of the CBS family for over seven years as co-host of the Boomer and Carton Show on WFAN, Esiason took a walk upstairs to welcome Scott Shannon to the family and talk about the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
Boomer’s radio career on WFAN began as another’s at CBS was coming to an end: the legendary Don Imus.
“The odd thing about it is… I was actually on the phone waiting to call into his radiothon,” recalls Boomer. Former Imus producer and current B&C board op Eddie Scozzare, while dealing with all the commotion going on in the studio, had to cancel Boomer’s call into the show. Shortly getting off of the phone with Scozzare, Boomer received a call from the top brass of CBS Radio.
“Right after I hung up, Joe Hollander… said, ‘Hey! Would you be interested in morning radio?’ And I said, ‘You going to pay me as much as they paid Imus?’” Boomer remarked, jokingly. “He was getting paid like a starting quarterback in the NFL!”
“It’s been a great run that Craig and I have had,” said Boomer, referring to his star co-host, Craig Carton. “It was a blessing that I was paired with Craig. I think he is a superstar at we what do… how he generates so much content, I have no idea where it’s coming from… there’s a lot of stuff coming out of that head and it’s all good stuff.”
Esiason founded The Boomer Esiason Foundation, created to fund research to find a cure for cystic fibrosis, a disorder his son, Gunner, has. The foundation has raised over $100 million and has donated $2 million in scholarship grants to CF patients. Gunner is currently taking part in a drug trial that could prove to be a huge breakthrough in the fight against cystic fibrosis.
“If it does work, and the idea behind it, would be a major breakthrough,” said Boomer. “I don’t want to say a cure, but close to one.”
“We do see some positive benefits from that drug use right now and we can only hope that it’s only going to get better over time,” added Esiason.
Listen to Scott Shannon’s full interview with Boomer Esiason below.
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