Charles Barkley has made it clear he’s sticking with TNT. Whether that reaffirmed commitment actually holds true remains to be seen, especially with the NBA media titan and his employer admitting that they don’t really have an idea what they will do moving forward.
After a brief period of uncertainty, he continued his role at the network amidst losing NBA rights following the 2024-25 season. He even went as far as to say he gave up “a minimum of $100 million” by returning to TNT.
With that in mind and an uncertain future, networks aren’t going to sit idly by. And ESPN isn’t going to sit on the sidelines, even if Barkley hasn’t exactly spoken about the network in a positive light. Sure, he talked to the Worldwide Leader, in addition to NBC and Amazon, but this is the same Barkley who has already opened up about the possibility of working at ESPN, saying he wouldn’t allow them to work him “like a dog.”
Barkley has also been critical of the network’s studio show strategy and took aim at the “idiots” who run ESPN over its Dan Hurley-Lakers/UConn coverage over the summer. Needless to say, he hasn’t pulled any punches when talking about the Worldwide Leader over the years, but that doesn’t deter anyone at the network, including executive Burke Magnus.
When Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports asked about the idea at the Tuned In summit in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, the network’s content chief hinted at his openness.
“Yeah,” Magnus said via FOS. “Yeah. That would be a perfect world, actually. Charles is a singular talent.”
“I would be lying if we said we weren’t interested in Charles,” Magnus continued. “I think the entire industry is interested in Charles. He’s really that special. We’ll see.”
With NBC set to broadcast NBA games starting next season, chairman Mark Lazerus indicated that same desire to kick the tires on Barkley, according to The Athletic.
Given Barkley’s frequent changes of heart when it comes to his status with TNT, it wouldn’t be a total surprise that when the new NBA media deals actually kick in, the networks that do televise games will come knocking at his door once again.
[FOS]
