As it turns out, Charles Barkley isn’t retiring.
And he won’t be hitting the free agent market either.
On Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the Hall of Fame power forward won’t be retiring following the 2024-25 NBA season as he had previously announced and has “reaffirmed” his long-term commitment to TNT Sports. Based on the language of the announcement, it’s unclear whether Barkley has signed a new deal with WBD or will continue on the 10-year, $210 million contract he signed in 2022.
In a statement, Barkley said:
“I love my TNT Sports family. My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible. We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they do. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me. I have to say … I’ve been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about. I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I’m going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.”
Obviously, the subtext to all of this is that Barkley will remain with WBD whether or not it keeps the NBA on its airwaves past the upcoming 2024-25 season. All indications to this point are that next season will be the NBA’s final season on TNT, with the league having announced a new media rights deal with ESPN, NBC and Amazon set to go into effect in 2025.
While the WBD is suing the NBA over its rejection of the media company’s matching rights, it remains unlikely that any resolution will result in TNT getting a piece of the league’s right package. And as it became increasingly clear that WBD would be on the outside looking in at the league’s next rights deal, Barkley was publicly critical of the company’s leadership and openly speculated about his own future, stating that he has the ability to get out of his contract should the NBA no longer be on TNT.
Either Barkley can’t actually get out of his contract or he is opting not to, but in any event, news of him staying at WBD likely means that next season will actually be Inside the NBA‘s last. In recent weeks, it’s been reported that WBD has “big plans” for Barkley with or without the NBA and it will be interesting to see what those plans are now that the 61-year-old is on board.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.