Longtime college football analyst Paul Finebaum said recently that he has considered leaving ESPN to pursue a career in politics, and it sounds like he was serious.
Finebaum is “very close” to departing ESPN to venture into national politics, according to a report from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports. The 70-year-old is planning to wait until the end of the 2025 college football season to make a final decision.
In September, Finebaum told OutKick founder Clay Travis that he is considering a run for the U.S. Senate in Alabama. Finebaum said the assassination of Charlie Kirk earlier this year is what has inspired him to think about running for political office.
Former college football coach Tommy Tuberville currently holds a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama and is running for governor of the state, so his seat could open up. Finebaum was a columnist in Birmingham before his “Paul Finebaum Show” became popular on Alabama radio. The show moved to the SEC Network in 2014.
Finebaum lived in Charlotte, where the SEC Network is headquartered, for several years before recently moving back to Alabama.
Finebaum is a registered Republican and said he would represent the party if he were to pursue a U.S. Senate seat. He also revealed that he voted for Donald Trump and told Travis that ESPN “tells us not to discuss that.” Finebaum appeared to be disciplined by ESPN for a short while after the interview with Travis, though he has since resumed his usual duties discussing college football on the SEC Network and various programs.
There was a rumor that a prominent college basketball coach could run for Tuberville’s senate seat, but it does not sound like that is going to happen. Finebaum seems to be leaning toward making a bid for that seat.
