Paul Finebaum explains major roadblock to SEC, Big Ten breaking away from NCAA in ‘Super League’

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum explained the major roadblocks to the SEC and Big Ten breaking away from the NCAA. In doing so, they could hypothetically create their own “Super League.” To be clear, neither Finebaum nor coworker Heather Dinich believe this will happen. But SEC commissioner Greg Sankey left the door open while speaking during the first day of SEC Media Days. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage But there’s a major hurdle to get over to do so. The court system for one! “I think that’s what they would like to do,” Finebaum said of breaking away on Get Up. “The issue there is litigation for antitrust. If the Big Ten and the SEC suddenly formed a Super League, they would get destroyed in court, and that’s really the issue because all these players are going to court for their sixth, seventh, and eighth year of eligibility. We saw Sorsby do it in the gambling case. “So I think everyone has to stay on their own terms: The Big 12, the Big Ten, the ACC, but I think they can create their own rules. But without Congress giving them an antitrust exemption, which the major sports leagues have, as you all know, they’re still vulnerable, and that is really where we are right now.” Dinich doubled down that the SEC and Big Ten would not break away to create Super League for college football and college athletics in general. In fact, both conferences have been on record. “Well, I want to make sure everyone knows that the Big Ten and the SEC have stated publicly multiple times they are not talking about a Super League, let’s put that there,” Dinich said. “They’re not talking about a Super League. But the other thing I think that’s important to know is the timing of this. Federal legislation has a ‘now or never’ feel to it, because if they don’t get this to the floor for a vote right now, they’re out of session. The Senate is out of session in August. It’s an election year. So I guarantee you the last thing the new senators want to do is come into the office the next day and fix college sports.” When asked if the conversations were “real” during his opening remarks on Monday, Sankey borrowed the phrasing and said they are, given frustrations about the state of the landscape. He noted previous rules the SEC had that others did not, such as a a prior sit-out year for players who transfer in-conference. “You phrased the question, ‘How real?’ So I’ll take that as, like, real or not. So they’re real,” Sankey said at SEC media days. “People have talked about that. They’ve opined about the frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different. “I do not believe that is a leverage point – I think that’s just honest communication. I would prefer that stay in a meeting room or on a video conference and not be part of the D1.ticker the next morning, but I don’t control all of that.”