From radio host to sitcom star? A career change could be coming for SEC Network's Paul Finebaum

Paul Finebaum’s name is synonymous with college football, especially in SEC country. The radio personality has long been one of the most popular figures associated with football in the South.

But a career change could be coming for SEC Network host and ESPN personality. A sitcom based on Finebaum’s life could be the next move for the king of college football talk radio.

According to a report from Michael Smith of Sports Business Daily, Finebaum is negotiating with television networks about the possibility of a sitcom based on his life. If the opportunity comes to fruition, Finebaum would leave ESPN and SEC Network.

“Paul Finebaum is negotiating with TV networks about a sitcom based on his life; such a move would see him leave ESPN and SEC Network,” Smith wrote.

The move could see Finebaum leave the talk radio world as early as the end of the 2020 college football season. Finebaum’s current contract with ESPN and SEC Network runs through summer 2021.

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Finebaum and his reps at CAA have met with all four major networks to gauge interest in a sitcom about the 64-year-old radio/TV personality, his call-in show and its many colorful characters. A sitcom is one of several opportunities Finebaum is exploring as he nears the end of his contract at ESPN and SEC Network, sources say. Finebaum’s $5 million, three-year deal runs through next summer, but sources say he could leave as early as the end of the 2020 college football season.

Finebaum has long been the voice of college football in SEC country and the daily television broadcast of his radio show on SEC Network has only increased his popularity. Not only can folks in the southern states tune in, he’s become a country-wide sensation, even for fans outside the SEC footprint.

This would be quite the move for Finebaum, and the end of an era in the SEC.