With finality to the NBA on TNT coming this week, Charles Barkley’s future in media seems that much more uncertain.
As Warner Bros. Discovery has been on the verge of losing its NBA rights, ending TNT’s 35-year partnership with the league, Barkley has repeatedly insisted he will retire before going to another network. But now that there is some closure to the NBA’s media rights agreements, leaving TNT behind in favor of deals with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon, Barkley doesn’t sound like a person preparing to retire.
Friday morning, Barkley released a statement addressing the end of NBA on TNT coming at the conclusion of the next season. Shortly after, he appeared on The Dan Patrick Show to discuss the media rights negotiations further, which sent shockwaves to NBA fans.
During the interview, Patrick asked Barkley if Amazon would consider keeping the entire Inside the NBA crew together and using them as their studio show out of Atlanta.
Charles Barkley outlines his current deal with TNT and discusses the possibility of becoming a free agent pic.twitter.com/t2qvXWuUFT
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 26, 2024
“Everything’s on the table,” the supposedly retiring Barkley said, prompting Patrick to ask whether he’s spoken to Amazon.
“I’ve spoken to all three networks,” Barkley admitted, repeating the answer as Patrick pressed on whether he spoke to Amazon specifically. “I have spoken to all three networks, Dan, who got the NBA going forward. Let me say this: for the last three months, I have spoken to all the networks.”
“That doesn’t sound like somebody who’s going to retire!” Patrick said with a chuckle.
“I’m gonna listen,” Barkley said. “I’d be stupid not to take their call. But the beauty of this situation, I don’t have to make any decision for a year, Dan. I told all three networks, ‘Hey, I’m honored, I’m flattered that you all want to talk to me, but let’s see what happens in a year.’ That’s the great thing about it, from my perspective. I don’t have to make any decisions for a year. But like I said, my intention, I’m not trying to play hardball, I’m not trying to get attention, my intention is to retire.”
Everything is on the table for Barkley. Retirement, Amazon, NBC, ESPN, even remaining at Turner. Although Barkley stated, he would not accept a pay cut from Turner’s parent company, WBD. Barkley told Patrick he’s entering year three of a 10-year $210 million deal with WBD, and if they’re interested in keeping him beyond their NBA contract, they will have to pay that in full. Otherwise, Barkley will become a free agent. A free agent who claims he intends to retire but also a free agent who already started to explore other employment options.
Barkley’s vow to retire always seemed like an exaggeration, just as it has for the decades he’s been forecasting his retirement, only to keep moving the goalposts every time the end gets near. The money and the fit will have to be right, but if Barkley is already taking calls about possible employment opportunities, then retirement can’t really be his plan. Amazon, NBC, and ESPN would have to botch those negotiations worse than WBD seemingly did with the NBA to force Barkley into retirement.
