Rick Santorum May Return to TV, But Don’t Bet on Fox News

By Alex Weprin 

Former Senator Rick Santorum ended his Presidential bid Tuesday, and today the speculation game kicks into high gear. The big question: will Santorum return to TV news as a commentator.

Santorum was a paid contributor to Fox News before running for President, but as the New York TimesJeremy Peters notes, he shouldn’t expect a warm invitation to return.

Mr. Santorum, in fact, was terminated about a year ago, a person with knowledge of the parameters of his contract said Tuesday. Under the terms of his three-year deal with Fox, which is actually in the range of five-figures per year and not the higher six-figure amounts that have been widely reported, the former Pennsylvania senator had 60 days after the network suspended him in March 2011 to confirm that he was not running for president. He never confirmed, so his contract was canceled.

Advertisement

Santorum made headlines last month when he said that Fox News was “shilling” for Mitt Romney, and that its daytime news programs were favoring his competitor. Those are the sorts of comments that don’t endear politicians to potential future employers. That said, given Santorum’s high-profile, it is a safe bet that some network will end up hiring him. Which one? Only time will tell.

Advertisement