Paul Finebaum has long been one of the top voices in college football, especially in the SEC. Through his work at ESPN, he’s become almost synonymous with the sport, but following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the analyst is reportedly considering a career change.
Is ESPN’s Paul Finebaum Ready to Leave Sports Media for Politics?
Finebaum has been covering college football since the 1980s and has worked for ESPN at the SEC Network since 2014. However, in a recent interview with OutKick, the longtime analyst revealed he’s considering a career change.
Finebaum told OutKick founder Clay Travis that he is now considering a run for a Senate seat in his home state of Alabama. He explained that while politics never seemed possible, some people in Washington, D.C., contacted him about a potential run.
He added that following Kirk’s death, it’s a choice he has thought about more and more.
“One or two people in Washington had reached out to me, about whether I would be interested in politics, something I had never thought about before, something I didn’t really think possible,” Finebaum said. He later added, “I gave some thought to it as this weekend unfolded with Charlie [Kirk], and got a little more interested.”
Finebaum isn’t the only prominent sports figure considering a move into politics. Former Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl had reportedly also considered running for the Alabama Senate seat.
Finebaum explained that he initially didn’t want to step on Pearl’s toes and was cautious about running for the seat against the legendary basketball coach.
“I was hesitant at first, because I was very aware of Bruce’s interest, and I’m a huge fan [of Pearl],” Finebaum told Travis. “I thought he would have a tremendous voice. So I was cautious, I didn’t take it too seriously.”
However, Pearl revealed that he would not be running for the seat, which opened the door for Finebaum to take the decision more seriously. It’s quite the leap for Finebaum to move from talking about college football to potentially serving as a United States senator, but it’s a path the analyst seems passionate about.
He admitted to Travis that balancing the decision with his role at ESPN has been challenging. While he wants to finish the 2025 college football season with the network, he will have to decide in the next 30 to 45 days, as the deadline to announce his candidacy is in January.
It’ll be interesting to see what Finebaum ultimately decides. While he hasn’t officially announced that he’ll be running for the Senate seat in Alabama, it does seem that the analyst is leaning in that direction.
