Charles Barkley may have more time left on television after his latest comments about the NBA media rights.
The iconic Inside the NBA member told viewers next season would be his last, amid the bidding war for the media rights of NBA between TNT, ESPN, NBC and Amazon.
Even though TNT is most likely going to lose the rights to the NBA, Barkley told The Athletic he will either remain with TNT Sports or listen to offers from ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video for when the new media rights deal kicks in for the 2025-26 season.
“My deal is 10 years, $210 million,” Barkley said in a phone interview with The Athletic. “Turner has to come to me ASAP and they have to guarantee my whole thing or they can offer me a pay cut, which there is no chance of that happening and I’ll be (a) free agent.
“My thing was, ‘Wait, y’all f— up, I didn’t f— up, why do I have to take a pay cut?”
Chuck is in the third year of his deal with TNT.
The NBA recently announced new deals worth $77 billion over the next 11 years with ESPN as well as NBC and Amazon.
In doing so, the league rejected TNT Sports’ matching rights, so TNT Sports filed a lawsuit against the NBA in a reported attempt to take over Amazon’s deal.
“I wouldn’t want them to sue,” Barkley said. “The NBA clearly wanted to break up with us. I don’t want to be in a relationship where I have to sue somebody to be in it. That makes zero sense.
“If you have to sue somebody to stay in a relationship, do you think that is a healthy relationship?”
Although Barkley isn’t fully retracting his retirement statements made on-air during the NBA Finals, he has been talking with ESPN, NBC and Amazon and is open to offers if he isn’t going to get a full pay check from TNT Sports.
“Right now, I’m planning on retiring,” Barkley said. “I’m not trying to do anything. …“But from a compensation standpoint, I said, ‘I will sit down and see what y’all are going to have going forward. I’ve been straight honest with all the companies.”