NBA Rumors: Charles Barkley could score $20 million deal with ESPN amid buzz of 'Inside the NBA' reunion
Charles Barkley is likely ending his time on TV, but not everything seems to be decided for him. The NBA agreed to new TV rights deals with ESPN and added NBCUniversal (NBC and Peacock) and Amazon Prime as its partners this week.
According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Barkley could take a U-turn on his retirement decision and sign with one of the three networks:
“The Chuckster could command $20 million-plus offers from the NBA’s new trio of rights partners: newcomer Prime; incumbent ABC/ESPN; and former broadcast partner NBC, which held the rights during the Michael Jordan golden era from 1990 to 2002. ESPN is already eying Barkley and the entire cast of Inside the NBA, say my sources. Ditto for Prime.”
Jay Marine, the global head of sports for Prime Video, talked about his interest in Barkley and the rest of the "Inside the NBA" crew.
“'Inside the NBA,' in our opinion, is the gold standard for studio programming," Marine said, according to Front Office Sports. "I’m a huge fan. We’re all big fans. It is so entertaining. Those guys are hilarious. The chemistry is off the charts
"In fact, it’s what we really held up as the standard and our inspiration when we were designing our 'TNF 'pregame show. … We’ll have to see how all this plays out. We just signed the deal. They’ll have no shortage of options depending on what they want to do.”
Charles Barkley's employer, TNT, to take legal action against the NBA after latest bid rejected
After the NBA announced that it picked Amazon over TNT, TNT said that it's ready to go to court as it feels the league didn't give it a fair chance.
"We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it. We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action.
"We look forward, however, to another great season on TNT and Max, including our iconic 'Inside the NBA.'"
The NBA is ending a 35-year relationship with TNT, and now plenty of fans around the world will have to wait to see if Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson get to work together again.