Paul Finebaum considers future of college sports beyond House settlement deal

Following Judge Claudia Wilken‘s long-awaited approval of the transformative House v. NCAA settlement late Friday night, the entire world of college athletics quickly turned its attention toward the future. That includes a June 15 deadline for non-defendant/Power Five conferences and athletic departments to opt into the agreement, including the new College Football Commission enforcement model developed by those same Power leagues.

But for ESPN and SEC Network firebrand Paul Finebaum, the ultimate result of Friday’s legal decision won’t be known for awhile. Though he has a good idea where college athletics is headed, and it’s not exactly encouraging for traditionalists.

During a Tuesday appearance on Birmingham’s McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic, Finebaum was asked what he expects 10 years down the line. And, given the rapid change that’s taken place just since 2020, Finebaum celebrated the end of the NCAA’s role in enforcement, but questioned the actual capacity of new College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley, who will have unprecedented authority, to impose compliance under the commission’s oversight of revenue-sharing, third-party NIL deals and roster limits.

“To me, the most significant thing that is easy to digest is the NCAA is no longer in the enforcement business,” Finebaum told Cubelic and McElroy. “This is not a surprise because they really haven’t been in a long time, which makes me wonder, and I know this new attorney (Seeley) that’s in charge talks a good game just like the last group talked a good game, but is anyone really going to be serious about enforcement? And the answer is no. Because there’s still loopholes, there’s still ways to cheat, and ultimately I don’t think much has happened here except the top of the pyramid is going to continue to succeed. And if you’re in the middle or the bottom, you have virtually no chance at success.”

That prompted McElroy, a former Alabama quarterback and fellow ESPN analyst, to ask Finebaum if Friday’s ruling effectively enshrines inequality between the haves and have-nots of college athletics.

“Did this ruling basically declare this is not an even playing field and there will never be an even playing field for the foreseeable future?” McElroy asked.

Finebaum agreed, and suggested college sports is actually headed for an even bigger dissolution away from the traditional NCAA model of old. And it’ll be fueled by the growing influence of private equity.

“Greg, no one will ever admit that, but you’re 100-percent correct. And I really don’t know how most colleges will be able to stay in this lane. I think we’ll see another big bang explosion,” Finebaum said. “I’ve heard people talk about it’s time for the conferences to leave the NCAA, and that’s already happened. I’m well aware, as your audience is, that the NCAA baseball tournament is going on. And that’s great, it’s entertaining, as softball was and as all of them are. But that’s going to change in time. And I don’t think they really know how this next structure is going to look. But someone is going to come up with it.

“And of all the things I heard yesterday that were portending the future, it didn’t get much coverage, but that two universities are now dealing and accepting private equity. To me, it seems like that’s where it’s going. … Ultimately, college athletics is going to become privatized, and it might not be immediate but ultimately that’s where it’s going.”