Charles Barkley left over $100 million on the table in recent months as he was being recruited by rival networks in the face of TNT losing the media rights to the NBA in 2025. Barkley recently announced he’d return to TNT, likely moving onto general sports coverage instead of just basketball. He revealed why he made that decision and how much money he left on the table.
“A minimum of $100 million, a minimum. It was a great feeling, and I want to thank all of those networks for reaching out to me, it was really humbling and cool. It was really humbling and cool, to be honest with you… even though they were throwing crazy numbers I was like damn. But as long as I got my people safe at TNT I feel really good. Like I said, they’re going to pay me to go and talk about nothing so I can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Barkley would have been the marquee media free agent for the first season of the NBA on NBC or Amazon, but it seems he’ll be staying put alongside Ernie Johnson on TNT. The futures of Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith are still unclear, but if they choose to move to a basketball network for 2025, Barkley will not be joining them.
Barkley said this upon announcing his decision to stay with TNT.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me. I have to say… I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”
“I love my TNT Sports family. My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do.”
Warner Bros. Media is trying to sue the NBA for not allowing them to match the offer Amazon made for the streaming-only rights to the NBA, but everyone expects the lawsuit to peter out, as both NBC and Amazon have announced the new deal from their end as well.
The NBA stands to make $76 billion over the 11-year contract with Disney (ESPN), NBC Universal, and Amazon. With all three partners having a more extensive reach than TNT as well, this deal was a no-brainer for the NBA. However, it takes away one of the best parts about watching live basketball, the ‘Inside The NBA’ crew.
Shaq will continue being a prominent voice in basketball through his podcast, while Barkley won’t stop sharing his opinions on the sport just because they’re on a rival network now. Johnson’s new role in TNT could cause him to step away from basketball coverage, while nobody knows what Kenny Smith’s next move could be.
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