Charles Barkley proved again he’s a team player.
On Wednesday, Aug. 14, the NBA legend revealed on the Dan Le Batard Show podcast that he left a minimum of $100 million “on the table” to stay with Turner Sports. His decision to remain with Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports division came after TNT was left out of the NBA’s 11-year media rights deal.
“The No. 1 thing for me is my people from Turner get to keep their jobs for at least another year,” Barkley, 61, told host Dan Le Batard. “That’s all I was concerned with.”
Due to the new agreement, Barkley’s possible exit was contractually sound. But he told Le Batard, 55, that he wants to remain with TNT. However, he admitted that it “100% was a great feeling” to get offers from outside networks recruiting the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer.
“I want to thank all of those networks for reaching out to me,” the two-time NBA Hall of Famer said. “It was really humbling and cool, to be honest with you. Even though they were throwing crazy numbers, like damn, but as long as I got my people safe at TNT man, I feel really good.”
“Like I say, they’re going to pay me to go and talk about nothing,” Barkley said, adding a quip, “I probably would’ve had to do an honest day’s work if I went to one of those other networks.”
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Barkley signed a 10-year deal with TNT Sports in 2022. He has served as a commentator on the channel for the award-winning NBA on TNT and Inside the NBA, the latter of which he co-hosts with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.
In late July, TNT Sports lost the NBA’s media rights after the league declined Warner Bros. Discovery’s $1.8 billion per year offer, which matched Amazon’s offer, per CNN. As a result, the NBA’s upcoming 2024-25 season will be the last with TNT.
The NBA’s new 11-year deal with ESPN parent company The Walt Disney Company, NBC and Amazon Prime Video will begin in the 2025-26 season. The deal is expected to garner $76 billion.
“We are grateful to Turner Sports for its award-winning coverage of the NBA,” the league said in a statement, according to USA Today. “(We) look forward to another season of the NBA on TNT.”
TNT responded that they will be taking “legal action” on the situation, per Sports Illustrated.
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Barkley also responded to the deal in a July 26 statement on Instagram.
“It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks,” he wrote. “I just want to thank everyone who has been at Turner for the last 24 years. They are the best people and the most talented and they deserve better. I also want to thank the NBA and its fans – the best fans in sports. We’re going to give you everything we have next season.”
