ESPN personality Paul Finebaum is set to make a hefty $700,000 advance plus royalties on his upcoming book about the Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher feud, SBJ’s Michael Smith reports.
Finebaum, the longtime authority on the SEC, is working with Penguin Press on the yet-to-be-titled book that will dig into what prompted the legendary Alabama coach to go after his former assistant, who is now the head coach at Texas A&M, over name, image and likeness issues. Saban said the Aggies “bought every player” in their highly ranked recruiting class.
Fisher fired back by calling Saban’s comments “despicable.” Saban later apologized for starting the spat. The salty back-and-forth is one of the most compelling stories in college football, especially given the relationships involved.
When they gathered in Atlanta last month for SEC Media Days, both coaches tried to simmer the heated dispute. But there’s apparently much more to the story, which will be the focus of Finebaum’s book. Finebaum’s monetary advance speaks to the interest in the topic as well as Finebaum’s status as the voice of the SEC to tell it.
AL.com’s John Talty is consulting with Finebaum on the book, which is expected to be ready in time for the 2023 football season.
