After signaling that retirement was near and flirting with LIV Golf, Charles Barkley is staying put at TNT in a lucrative new deal — along with the rest of the “Inside the NBA” cast.
The cast of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” — Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal — have agreed to multi-year contract extensions to remain in their current roles, it was announced Monday. According to the New York Post, Barkley’s deal is for ten years and “well north of nine figures,” a substantial increase over his current three-year, $10M/year deal he currently. Terms for Johnson, Smith and O’Neal were not immediately known.
Barkley’s ten-year contract term far exceeds the number of years remaining on TNT’s current NBA rights deal, which runs through the end of the 2024-25 season. In a statement announcing the new deal on Monday, Barkley termed his new contract as “a life-altering deal.”
Of the main cast, only Barkley had expressed any uncertainty about staying on the show. He has repeatedly stated his intention to retire from TV at age 60 (his 60th birthday is this coming February) and when asked by this writer about his future back in February, reiterated that stance. More recently, he had a high-profile, days-long flirtation with the LIV Golf tour in which he broached the possibility of leaving TNT for what he termed an “astronomical” contract offer.
There had been speculation that Barkley was using the LIV Golf talks as leverage in negotiations with TNT, a suggestion that would seem to be validated by the reported terms.
Beyond basketball, Barkley’s production company Round Mound Media will produce documentaries and other content for TNT parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, per the Post. Barkley’s previous deals have also included non-sports components.
(News from TNT, NYP 10.17)
