In an exclusive interview with Front Office Sports, ESPN President Burke Magnus spoke about various topics relating to life, sports, and his multi-billion dollar network. On the subject of former player-turned-analyst Charles Barkley, Magnus suggested that he’s been thinking about bringing him on to join their elite crew of television analysts and broadcasters.
“Charles is a singular talent. I think this season is going to be a little bit of a bridge to the future, both for us and the NBA,” said the ESPN President. “I would be lying if I said we weren’t interested in Charles, I think the entire industry is interested in Charles. He’s really that special so we’ll see.”
ESPN's Burke Magnus says Charles Barkley would be with ESPN "in a perfect world."
“I would be lying if we said we weren’t interested in Charles."
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— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 10, 2024
ESPN is one of the biggest giants in media and it’s no secret that they are always looking to improve their sports coverage. With a strong lineup of NBA personnel that includes Stephen A. Smith, Brian Windhorst, and Adrian Wojnarowski they already have a strong lineup of experts but none of them carry as much heat as Charles Barkley. As it stands, Barkley is one of the biggest stars on television right now, and he’s set to make over $210 million over the next 10 years.
The 61-year-old Hall-of-Famer initially started as a player and he was very successful in that role. Over 16 years in the league, he averaged 22.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game on 54.1% shooting. He retired in 2000 as an 11x All-Star, 11x All-NBA player, and 1x MVP.
After calling it quits on the court, Chuck transitioned to television and he’s had arguably even more success on the big screen than he did on the court. As the leading face of ‘Inside the NBA’ Barkley has reached legendary status in the community and his jokes, takes, and opinions have gone viral many times before.
Over 24 years since Barkley joined, the show has gained a massive following and it’s become one of the most popular sports programs in the entire industry. Together, Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Ernie Johnson, and Kenny Smith have become legendary for their roles and they frequently take the basketball world by storm with their comedic and highly entertaining on-air segments.
Sadly, ‘Inside the NBA’ is likely coming to an end after this upcoming season. With the league’s media rights deal set to expire in 2025, Turner Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery are losing their NBA broadcast privileges and soon it’ll be Amazon and its partners who can cover the games.
There are no concrete plans for the TNT crew and Barkley was originally planning to retire after the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Eventually, Chuck reversed the decision and forfeited millions so he could stay on the network and finish his contract. Beyond that, Charles will be planning out his retirement plans.
Unless something changes, ESPN will probably not be adding Barkley to the fold but they already have more than enough people to survive without him. In fact, once the NBA’s media deal changes hands next season, it could be an opportunity for them to revamp their roster and try to build their own broadcast crew to rival everyone’s favorite ‘Inside the NBA’ halftime show. Clearly, the network’s President has some big ambitions for their NBA coverage going forward and it should make it all the more exciting for fans.
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