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Mike Valenti: "Detroit [is] one of the great sports towns." (Facebook photo)
In 2015, Mike Valenti of 97.1 The Ticket said: "The Lions aren't here because of me."
The Lions wanted him fired and when the station didn't give in, the Lions moved the broadcast to WJR.
His station still holds the never-shy 37-year-old Valenti in high regard. The station's parent company, Entercom, gives Detroit's top-rated sports radio host a multi-year contract extension.
The news of the extension is not unexpected, as Valenti has repeatedly rebuffed overtures to take his popular show to a larger market, writes Tony Paul of The Detroit News.
“I value the opportunity to continue my career at The Ticket in Detroit, one of the great sports towns in the country,” Valenti says on the station's website.
Debbie Kenyon, a senior vice president and local market Manager for the company, says in a statement:
“Mike is an extraordinary talent who has a great rapport with Detroit sports fans. He has built a dedicated listener base and we’re thrilled to have him on the 97.1 team for years to come.”
He joined 97.1 as an afternoon hoist in 2007 after co-hosting “The Sports Inferno” on Sports Radio 1270 (WXYT-AM) in Detroit.
The New York native earned a journalism degree from Michigan State in 2002.
