After months of back and forth between ESPN and the NBA, the two parties finally came to an agreement. They decided that the Inside the NBA show, hosted by Ernie Johnson along with analysts Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, will still continue to be produced by TNT. However, it will be distributed on ESPN and ABC channels only.
Barkley always speaks his mind and stands for his beliefs. In an interview with Dan Dakich of Outkick, Barkley revealed the real reasons why this deal was delayed for so long. Barkley said, “That’s actually been one of the most frustrating things and one of the reasons I hesitate to sign off on a deal….I’m like I’m not taking no job when…the most important thing is, how much I’m going to work. That’s been my biggest gripe, to be honest with you. Well, how much am I going to work? I mean, the notion that I’m going to work more as I get older, that’s just not going to happen. And like I said, I think I’m going to stick it out for two more years. They’re trying to talk me into three more years. I’m like right now, I’m going to give you guys two years, that’s the best I can do.”
He then moved on to talking about saving his colleagues’ jobs with Inside the NBA. Barkley added, “My biggest concern, I’m not even worried about ESPN or anybody like that, I’m worried about the people here at Turner. I want to make sure they got a job; that was my only concern. Cause this was supposed to be my last year, and I didn’t think we were stupid enough to lose the NBA contract. It would have been a smooth transition for me to walk away at the end of the year. The only reason I’m hanging around is to make sure the people who I love and work with for the last 25 years got a job. That’s the only reason, and it has nothing to do with ESPN or TNT. I just want to make sure the people I work with got a job.”
Barkley further added, “Like I said, I originally thought, I didn’t know the people I worked for here at Turner was so stupid they were going to lose the NBA. I was going to pass the torch to Vince Carter or Jamal Crawford two amazing guys So I thought this was going to be it for me Dan to be honest with you And then when they screwed up and lost the NBA deal I was like “Oh how do I keep these people in part?” and they came up with this thing with ESPN and now I’m just trying to decide either I’m going to stay here two years or three years.”
What’s Next For The Inside The NBA Crew?
Like Barkley said, he has committed to at least the next two years with the Inside the NBA production team. The show will also retain the same cast, with all four co-hosts returning for at least another year. Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal have also inked long-term deals that will keep them with ‘Inside the NBA’ for the foreseeable future.
Ernie Johnson, who has worked with Turner Sports for over 35 years, also signed an extension that kept him with ‘Inside the NBA’ irrespective of whether or not they went with ESPN or not. It was therefore only Charles Barkley who was holding out on an extension until he got the guarantee that his peers’ jobs were safe.
Barkley earns $21 million annually, while Shaq earns $15 million annually from their respective deals with TNT. This quartet of NBA legends (yes, Johnson is an NBA media legend) has been together since 2011. They are nearing 15 years of broadcasting the sport we all love. Do you think it was time for them to hang up their boots? Or is the NBA media incomplete without them? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
