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While Warner Bros. Discovery and TNT along with the NBA and Disney/ESPN is celebrating the announcement of lawsuits ending and Inside the NBA staying, apparently some earlier reports that said all members of the famed TNT show were under long-term contracts have turned out to not be completely accurate. SI’s Jimmy Traina has reported Shaquille O’Neal’s contract expires July 1, 2025.
Traina reports that since the others on the show, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley each do things outside of their Inside the NBA agreement, such as the NCAA Tournament, they have different contract setups. O’Neal only works on Inside the NBA and thus his contract expires at the same time the network’s contract with the league does.
Traina wrote, “While sources say Shaq wants to remain on the show, he’s frustrated that there has been congratulations and press releases hyping that Inside the NBA is remaining the same while he is currently not under contract to be with the company next season.”
Ernie Johnson has been with the show the longest, having started for its second season in 1990. Kenny Smith joined as an analyst in 1998, followed by Charles Barkley in 2000 and Shaq in 2011. Others such as Magic Johnson, Reggie Miller, Chris Webber and Draymond Green have also served as analysts on the show.
The show has won nineteen Sports Emmy Awards and Johnson has won seven awards as a studio host. Charles Barkley has won five awards as a top studio analyst with the most recent one coming this year.
