Charles Barkley and TNT Sports reaffirmed a long-term commitment last week in a transaction that will keep Barkley within the Warner Bros. Discovery division following the upcoming NBA season. Barkley had expressed that he wanted to keep his colleagues employed and recently divulged that he was giving 50 employees $5,000 each in cash as a sign of his appreciation. As Barkley commences his 25th year with the company, he is committed to doing everything he can to keep his colleagues employed, which played into the rationale of why he decided to walk back on his intent to retire.
Even though Warner Bros. Discovery is in active litigation against the NBA for the way in which the league denied the company’s matching rights provision, the company is engaging in transactions within the sports media space. Over the last several months, the company has inked media rights deals with the French Open, Big East Conference and Mountain West Conference. Moreover, the media conglomerate agreed to a deal with The Walt Disney Company to sublicense select College Football Playoff games from ESPN. In an interview with The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Barkley emphasized that while the situation is fluid, he is committed to remaining with the company and its employees.
“The thing that’s going to be interesting is we got the NBA all next year no matter what, and it’s going to be interesting what crazy ideas they come to us with going forward,” Barkley said. “That’s what’s going to be fascinating – like, ‘What do you guys think about doing this next year?,’ and we’re going to look at each other like, ‘Uh, okay.’ So like I say, man, it’s a very fascinating situation, but the No. 1 thing for me is my people at Turner get to keep their jobs for at least another year, and that’s all I was concerned with.”
Barkley estimates that he left a minimum of $100 million on the table in deciding to stay with Warner Bros. Discovery, where he has stated that he is signed to a 10-year, $210 million contract. In a previous interview, he had divulged that The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal and Amazon had reached out to him, all of whom are part of the league’s new 11-year media rights package reportedly worth a collective $77 billion. Barkley articulated that it was a “humbling and cool” experience that involved them “throwing crazy numbers.”
“I probably would have to do an honest day’s work if I went to one of those other networks,” Barkley said, leading Le Batard and Weiner to state that it would not be the case at Meadowlark Media. Weiner then expressed his opinion on Barkley returning and the calculus that was behind his decision.
“I’m concerned for Charles because I feel like he’s never going to quit because every year, Turner will send a new employee there and say, ‘Hey, wife, kids, mortgage,’ and Charles is back.”
Le Batard concurred that he would do the same thing if he was operating at the company, leading Barkley to explain that he would be coming into work with a cane and a walker welcoming viewers to a new show titled Outside with No NBA. Earlier in the interview, Le Batard and Stugotz suggested Barkley have the show name changed to Outside the NBA since the upcoming 2024-25 season is the last under the current media rights deal with the league.
The show would also presumably need to pay for highlights and have no idea what it is discussing, the latter of which he stated is something he is “so there for.” While Barkley illustrated the idea of coming into work with a cane and walker, Le Batard took a potential outcome further down the road.
“You got it too young, Charles,” Le Batard said. “They are going to have your coffin up there in a chair – in a chair – and they’re going to open it up and mic it up, your coffin, seven years after your death.”
Barkley works alongside colleagues Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny “The Jet” Smith on Inside the NBA, the award-winning studio program that precedes select NBA on TNT broadcasts during the regular season and playoffs. TNT is entering the final season of its nine-year media rights deal with the league worth a reported $1.2 billion. In addition to the NBA, TNT Sports continues to broadcast games for the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
