Jarrett Payton is stepping away from WGN after 10 years, ending a run that began in 2015 and made him a familiar face in Chicago sports coverage. He announced the move on social media on Thursday and said the choice came from the heart.
Payton said he wants to spend more time with his family, calling them the most important part of his world. The note lands now because it marks an immediate change in his role at the station and closes a decade-long chapter that helped shape WGN Sports on air.
His departure carries extra weight because Payton was more than a broadcaster who filled airtime. He is the son of Walter Payton, was a running back for the Miami Hurricanes and went undrafted in 2004 before stints across the NFL, CFL and Indoor Football League. At WGN, he became known for moments that went well beyond routine highlights, including once acting out Chicago’s baseball highlights after a server error and later producing the video of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce leaving Arrowhead Stadium together after a game against the Bears in 2023.
In his farewell message, Payton thanked Rick, Akemi, WGN and Nexstar for believing in him and giving him the chance to do what he loves. He also singled out Jen Lyons, thanked Dan Roan and Rich King for their guidance and mentoring, and named his WGN Sports colleagues Joel, Rick, K-Shark, Josh, Nate, Chris, Ernest, Andy, KP, Demetri, Eli, Steve and Ike. He wrote that building GN Sports alongside them was one of the greatest honors of his career.
There is still one unresolved piece. Payton said he is stepping away from the station, but he also wrote that he is still looking for ways to stay connected to WGN. That leaves open whether this is a full departure or the start of a different kind of relationship with the place where he spent the past 10 years.
For now, the clearest reading is that WGN is losing one of its best-known sports voices, even if Payton has not ruled out a return in some other form. What happens next will depend on whether that connection becomes a role, a project or simply a loose tie to a station he said he loves.
