Paul Finebaum waiting until end of football season to decide on Senate run

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum has set a timeline for his decision to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in Alabama.

Appearing Monday on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Finebaum revealed that he would wait until after the college football season concludes before making a decision about his political future. “The timetable is right as the season ends,” Finebaum said regarding when he’ll make a decision. “I’m under contract to ESPN, and I feel like I have to get to the end of the season before making a decision. And if it costs me getting in [to the Alabama primary], I will find something else to let my mind wander on. But that is where it is.

“And it’s not easy. And that’s my decision, it’s nobody else’s,” he continued, before thanking ESPN for allowing him to explore politics. “I do want to thank Burke Magnus at ESPN for allowing me this time. He’s the top person in my world, and a lot of people would’ve said, ‘Listen, you’re out. You’re not going to be able to talk about this situation.’ But he has been incredibly kind.

“The other thing I’m just trying to deal with is, just, ‘Is this my lane?’ I shouldn’t be saying this because that’s not what politicians are supposed to say, but I’ve been under a microscope for 40 years. I’ve said a lot of things that you and Buck have said. I’ve built a national brand. I’ve dealt with people during on-air crises. And you talk about an on-air crisis, Clay, try babysitting an audience on the night of January 10  two years ago, when the news bulletin broke that Nick Saban was resigning and retiring,” the SEC Network host joked.

In September, Finebaum revealed his potential political ambitions to Travis, leading to a mysterious disappearance from ESPN’s airwaves for approximately one week. ESPN says Finebaum’s absence was pre-planned and unrelated to his announcement. Shortly after reports of his absence appeared in the media, Finebaum returned to ESPN programming.

Now, Finebaum’s praise of Magnus may serve as a bit of a mea culpa. His status at ESPN hasn’t been in jeopardy since announcing his intentions to explore a run for office, and it seems the network is allowing him to finish out the football season before making any final decisions.

The deadline to file for Senate in the state of Alabama is January 23. Should Finebaum choose to run, the Republican primary in Alabama is scheduled for May, with the winner a heavy favorite to defeat the Democratic candidate in November’s midterm elections.