A new report claims Fox News might refuse to release Tucker Carlson from his contract in a decision that could sideline the former primetime superstar until one month after the 2024 presidential election.

Matthew Boyle with Breitbart News published a lengthy piece late on Thursday that cited multiple current and former Fox News employees as sources who spoke about the state of the network.

Each person was granted anonymity to talk about the network, which is now not only without Carlson but also without former weekend ratings draw Dan Bongino, who left the company last week.

Boyle reported Fox News made attempts to keep Bongino, who was hesitant to continue doing a weekend show as he found working six days a week to be taxing.

Carlson, meanwhile, was canceled on Monday but due to the terms of his contract, he is technically a dormant Fox News employee for the next 18 or so months.

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly touched on that a bit on her radio show earlier this week.

“Tucker Carlson hasn’t actually been fired,” Kelly said. “He’s still an employee of the Fox News Channel.”

Kelly concluded the two parties will have to negotiate Carlson’s exit, but until Fox News negotiates an end to his contract, he is effectively stuck in neutral.

Compounding matters, Carlson might be in neutral for some time, which would obviously leave conservatives without his voice through a coming election cycle that will decide the fate of the country for four years and beyond.

Boyle reported, “Carlson’s current contract runs through December 2024, and as of now three sources familiar with the matter told Breitbart News that executives at the network are trying to keep Carlson on contract and not release him until after the 2024 election.”

Whether Fox News intends to work quickly to resolve Carlson’s contract remains to be seen.

The network is already without his biting critiques of Democrats and establishment Republicans and people are tuning out in droves.

A source told Boyle the Murdoch family expects to weather the storm.

“The election is coming up next year, and they think they’re going to get their viewers back anyway because there’s nowhere else to go,” the person said.

Boyle’s sources ultimately claimed the network’s ownership is pleased Carlson and Bongino are both gone because they were unable to be controlled as the network plans to go in a different editorial direction – one that veers coverage more to the center.

Sources said Carlson and Bongino were both specifically targeted because they were viewed by upper management as the least likely people to bend the knee to Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch, who founded Fox News in 1996, or his sons James and Lachlan.

A source said to be close to the network said Bongino and Carlson “were considered the two most likely to say ‘f*** you’ to management.”

The person said Bongino “gave zero fs, and Tucker gave even less fs.”

Meanwhile, another source said the Murdochs want Fox News to pivot its coverage away from criticism of people such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other political elites that are friends with or acquaintances of the family.

As one network source put it, the family wants future coverage “dumbed down.”

“Dumbed down” Fox News coverage would be hard to pull off with Carlson in the lineup, as his show went in directions others on the network would not.

Many of Carlson’s millions of fans are of course eager to hear what his next move might be and he has reportedly hired one of the best attorneys in the business to negotiate his exit.

But according to Boyle’s reporting, Fox News might keep him on the sidelines until after the country chooses who will occupy the White House next November.

Boyle reported, “As of right now, the plan remains the same: pay out Carlson’s contract and keep him on the sidelines through the 2024 elections.”

Per the report, Carlson could be kept from making any major moves that would allow him to challenge his former network until after the next election – a time when the Murdochs believe they will have rebounded from the backlash of canceling his show.

In the meantime, Fox News reportedly hopes to lean on its current roster, which is made up of people who generally avoid rocking the boat.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.