There may be no bigger NBA television broadcast star than Charles Barkley.
His outsized personality and chemistry with host Ernie Johnson Jr. and former players Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith combine to make their studio show “Inside the NBA” incredibly popular.
But with TNT unable to be part of the league’s next television deal, Sir Charles ensured his association with ‘The Association’ would continue.
“I just signed a 10-year contract two years ago, but one of the things I did was walk away in a few years because I wanted to cover my ass in this situation,” he said. Barkley said Wednesday. an interview with 850 ESPN Cleveland.
The NBA’s contracts with ESPN/ABC and TNT will expire at the end of the 2024-25 season. And Amazon Prime reportedly struck a deal last month to become one of the NBA’s broadcast partners, starting with the 2025-26 season.
ESPN/ABC is expected to continue broadcasting the NBA, including the NBA Finals. And NBC, which lost NBA broadcast rights in 2002, is reportedly interested in returning to the league, which could leave TNT out.
Barkley said he acknowledged that could be a possibility when he and his “Inside the NBA” colleagues signed their new deals in 2022.
“I said, ‘If you lose the NBA, I want to make sure I can get out of here.’ So, I’m actually in a really good position,” Barkley said. “Listen, I love TNT, they’ve been great to me…I wanted to make sure that if we lost the NBA in two years, I could be there. a free agent.
Contributor: Jordan Mendoza
