Paul Finebaum has graced the air waves of SEC Network since its inception in 2014. There was always going to be a time when he’d no longer have a presence in sports media, but it may be coming sooner than any of us would have imagined.
Finebaum told OutKick’s Clay Travis in an interview that he is considering a departure ESPN to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama as a Republican.
The 70-year-old media personality told Travis that the murder of Charlie Kirk earlier this month, “made him rethink his priorities.”
“[After hearing the news], I spent four hours numb talking about things that didn’t matter to me. And it kept building throughout that weekend… I felt very empty doing what I was doing that day,” Finebaum told OutKick. “It’s hard to describe, not being involved in politics, how that affected me and affected tens of millions of people all over this country. And it was an awakening.”
Finebaum said he was “hesitant” to run for office at first because of Bruce Pearl, who was initially reported to have stepped down from his post as Auburn’s basketball coach to run for Senator Tommy Tuberville’s likely-vacated seat (he’s running for Governor). Once Pearl made clear he was not pursuing the position, Finebaum’s interest increased.
“At first … I didn’t take it too seriously,” Finebaum told Travis. “[But] I ended up talking to someone… who made it clear that there was a desire for me to be involved. And this person … was compelling and compassionate in the approach to me, and I started thinking about this.”
Finebaum moved back to Alabama, where he lived prior to 2013, earlier this year. He told Travis he’d “love to get to the end of the [college football] season,” but noted that timeline may “not be realistic.” He hopes to have his decision made “in the next 30 to 45 days.”
