Birmingham Radio: Paul Finebaum Is Now Free Agent

Paul Finebaum

Paul Finebaum's 90-day wait is over, but don't expect the popular Birmingham sports-talk radio host to return to the air today.

More likely, Finebaum could be back on the radio sometime later this week, but whether he will move to ESPN 97.3 The Zone or return to WJOX 94.5 FM, he is still not saying, reports al.com.

Finebaum, who left WJOX when his contract there expired on Jan. 21, became, in sports parlance, an "unrestricted free agent" at 12:01 a.m. today, meaning he is now free to negotiate and sign with any station he so chooses.

During the previous 90 days, WJOX owner Cumulus Media had the right to match any offer he received and bring him back to WJOX, where his "Paul Finebaum Radio Network" aired for six years.

While Finebaum may officially begin entertaining offers today, how soon he returns to the air depends on how quickly he agrees to a new deal.

The Cox Media Group, which owns WZNN ESPN 97.3 The Zone, has been unabashed about its intentions of signing Finebaum, but WJOX owner Cumulus has shown it doesn't plan to let him get away without a fight, either.

The same day Finebaum left WJOX in January, the station's program director, Ryan Haney, also left after 14 years there and went to work for The Zone the following week.

However, Citadel Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media, quickly filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Haney in an attempt to block the move, and after the two sides reached a settlement last month, Haney returned to work at WJOX.

Among some radio insiders, it is believed that WJOX used the Haney lawsuit to send a message that it was willing to play hardball to prevent Finebaum from switching teams.

Also, last summer, as speculation grew that Finebaum might bolt for The Zone, Cumulus chief operating officer John Dickey threw down the gauntlet, telling the radio trade website Talkers Magazine that Finebaum "will never work for Cox in Birmingham."

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