Paul Finebaum will not be leaving the microphone for politics.
Finebaum, the longtime college football talk host at ESPN and SEC Network, told AL.com that he is taking his hat out of the ring to replace Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville.
“I have been deeply moved by so many people in Alabama who have reached out encouraging me to run for the United States Senate,” Finebaum said in a statement to the outlet. “It has been a gratifying and rewarding experience. I am also appreciative of my bosses at ESPN for allowing me to explore this opportunity. But it’s time for me to devote my full attention to something everyone in Alabama can agree upon – our love of college football.”
This qualifies as a relative surprise. The chatter in industry circles had been that ESPN decision-makers and SEC officials were bracing for Finebaum to run. Since Finebaum revealed in an interview with Clay Travis that he was considering a run for office, some of his regular callers were effectively treating their on-air conversations as a goodbye.
It was not immediately clear why Finebaum, 70, decided not to run for Senate. Finebaum would have run in the Republican primary, which is May 19, 2026; he’s out of the race before opponents would begin attacking him in the media and elsewhere.
An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment on Finebaum’s decision to opt out of the race, but they confirmed the host will continue in his regular roles. Finebaum just signed a multiyear extension with ESPN this past August.
