Afternoons on WFAN radio might be radically different at the end of next year without the self-proclaimed king of New York sports radio.

Mike Francesa, the often vilified but also revered talk show host, will walk away when his contract is up at the end of 2017, he announced on the “Garbage Time” podcast with Katie Nolan of FOX Sports 1.

“I’m not saying I’m leaving the business,” he told Nolan during an interview which caused him to be 20 minutes late to his own radio show Tuesday. “I’m leaving Monday to Friday, 5½ hours, FAN. I’m bringing the curtain down on that part of the show.

“I’m not saying I’m not going to work again. I’m not saying I’m not going to do anything ever again. What I’m saying is, that part of my life is ending at the end of 2017.”

New York’s “Numbah One” sports-talk host joined WFAN in 1987 and was paired with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo for 19 years. The two split in 2008 when Russo made a much-publicized switch to SiriusXM radio. The two are reuniting for a one-time reunion show on March 30.

The reunion show will take place at Radio City Music Hall with the proceeds going to the Garden of Dreams foundation with a live, commercial-free simulcast being carried by MSG-Plus, Sirius and WFAN for those who were unable to purchase a ticket.

Nevertheless, there have been rumors of a potential split between the Francesa and WFAN since the summer.

Despite his continually high ratings, the 61-year-old Francesca said he would have liked to start the next stage of his life sooner. Earlier this year, rumors swirled he was unhappy with management at WFAN over no longer being handed preferential treatment due to the rising success of the “Boomer and Carton” show.

It’s been the continuation of some tumultuous few years for Francesa, with his simulcast moving from the YES Network, where he was videotaped falling asleep during an interview with colleague Sweeny Murti, to Fox Sports 1, where he has been bumped off the air for sports.

“I’ve agreed to stay through the end of 2017,” he said. “We talked about me leaving earlier. We discussed it. They didn’t really want it.

“They really didn’t give me a chance to get out. They never offered me a reasonable way out. So 2017 it is. At the end of 2017, there will be no more FAN, I promise.”

And New York sports radio won’t be the same, either.