After months of thinking, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum has decided he won’t run for Alabama’s Senate seat. While Finebaum called his brief flirtation with the idea “comforting and beneficial,” he said he will turn his attention back to covering college football, AL.com reported.
Finebaum, 70, thanked everyone who contacted him after he publicly considered running for office in Alabama, AL.com reported.
“I am deeply touched by the number of people in Alabama who have reached out to encourage me to run for U.S. Senate,” the ESPN and SEC Network analyst told AL.com in an exclusive statement.
“It was a gratifying and rewarding experience.
“I’m also grateful to the owners at ESPN for allowing me to explore this opportunity. But now it’s time for me to devote all of my energy to what everyone at Alabama agrees on – our love for college football.”
Finebaum first floated the idea of running for Senate in September, telling Outkick at the time that he was considering the idea “constantly.”
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If Finebaum runs, he would be trying to replace former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville, who announced in May that he would run for governor in 2026. Several candidates have already announced their candidacy for Tuberville’s open Senate seat.
With Finebaum no longer in the Senate race … nothing will change for the longtime college football analyst. Although Finebaum sparked some controversy over whether he was banned from appearing on ESPN after revealing he was considering running for office, the network said that was not the case. Finebaum appeared regularly on ESPN as he considered running for Senate.
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He’ll continue in that role for the foreseeable future, making fans of every SEC team happy, but mostly angry.