Paul Finebaum is an American sports author, television and radio personality, and former columnist. According to longtime New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, he is incomparable, saying "Nobody does a better radio show anywhere than Finebaum." In 2012, Paul's career changed overnight following a New Yorker Magazine profile, dubbing him the "King of the South". After the publication, he would later be a New York Times best-seller and join ESPN, where he would become the face of the SEC Network. Ultimately, he is known as "the Oprah Winfrey of college football" (Wall Street Journal). Since joining ESPN in 2013, he has appeared on College GameDay and, in addition to his daily show on the SEC Network and simulcast on ESPN Radio, is a regular on SportsCenter, Get Up, and First Take. On the SEC's fifth anniversary, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro said, "Paul's hiring gave SEC Network instant credibility. SEC fans could trust SEC Network because they knew they'd have a voice with the Finebaum show."

Recently, Finebaum has received praise for his handling of the show during the Coronavirus pandemic. Bryan Curtis, the editor-in-chief of The Ringer, featured Finebaum in a piece titled, "How Sports Radio Hosts Became America's Grief Counselors." In it, he wrote, "For years, we've heard that people who distrust American institutions can be reached by Joe Rogan or the hosts of Chapo Trap House. The coronavirus has shown that The Paul Finebaum Show is at least somewhere on the list." Dan Wolken did a similar piece in USA Today under the heading: "College football fans seek comfort in a familiar voice, Paul Finebaum."

James Andrew Miller, the New York Times best-selling author and podcast host, said, "Paul Finebaum knows the American Southeast like Jay-Z knows Brooklyn. And that's a big blast of wind at your back if your job is covering college football. His instincts as interviewer rank him in the top tier of the sports world, and he is beyond mere savvy when it comes to speaking very virally."

Finebaum's career has not gone unnoticed in Hollywood either. Currently, a sitcom script, "King of the South," is being developed for a major studio about his daily show, and a documentary is in the works, based on his career. 

Finebaum has spoken all over the country and at various colleges, including the law-school commencement in 2015 at the University of Mississippi. His eulogy for former SEC Commissioner Mike Slive in 2017 was described by longtime Birmingham News sports columnist Kevin Scarbinsky as "...among the most personal and painful minutes Finebaum eve spent behind a microphone. Paul's moving tribute may have been his finest hour."

He also developed a stand-alone interview show on the SEC Network. He has done sit-downs with Apple Chairman and CEO Tim Cook, Lockheed-Martin chairman, CEO Marilyn Hewson, author John Grisham, and country star Darius Rucker.

Finebaum grew up in Memphis and attended the University of Tennessee. He began his career as a muckraking newspaper journalist in Birmingham, Alabama, where he caught the wave of talk radio in the nineties.