With the future of TNT's NBA coverage uncertain, Charles Barkley has said he will retire from television after next year.
“No matter what happens, I have decided that next year will be my last year on television,” Barkley said on NBA TV after Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday. “I want to thank my NBA family. … I am overjoyed and grateful, but I will be passing the baton at the end of next year. I hope the NBA stays on TNT, but personally, I wanted you all to hear it from me.”
Next year will mark Barkley's 25th year in broadcasting, and the NBA Hall of Famer said he is in negotiations with other networks and plans to remain with TNT until he retires.
“I really love TNT and all the people that work here, NBA Television. You've all been great to me for 24 years,” Barkley said.
“Charles is a Hall of Fame broadcasting icon and will remain a beloved member of the TNT sports family,” the network said in a statement. Athletic“We look forward to another great season of NBA on TNT and to discussing future plans with him further.”
The future of TNT Sports and the NBA remains up in the air as parts of the NBA's upcoming rights deal are still up in the air. ESPN is set to pay $2.6 billion per season for the NBA Finals and Conference Finals in its upcoming contract, while Amazon Prime Video will receive the Conference Finals every two years, expected to be in the range of $1.8 billion per year. Athletic Reported previously.
NBC is the favorite to ultimately allocate television rights, and if Warner Bros. Discovery is unable to retain the NBA rights, the 2024-25 season will be the last for TNT's 35-year-old show “Inside the NBA.”
“Morale is terrible, I'll tell you the truth,” Barkley said on “The Dan Patrick Show” in May about Warner Bros. Discovery being put at a disadvantage in negotiations for the NBA's future media rights. “I feel really bad for the people that I work with. They have families and I just feel really bad right now. The people that I work with (executives) obviously screwed this up. I have no idea what's going to happen.”
Barkley, 61, joined TNT's “Inside the NBA” in 2000 after a 16-year NBA career. Since then, he has worked with Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith, and in 2011 was joined by Shaquille O'Neal, completing one of the most beloved sports studio shows.
Barkley also covers college basketball for CBS Sports.
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(Photo by Mitchell Leighton/Getty Images)
