Charles Barkley continues to describe his retirement after this season as a certainty.
In a video publicized by Montgomery (Ala.) NBC affiliate WSFA Monday, Barkley said that he is “looking forward to this last year” and that he will “take a step back from public life” thereafter. Barkley: “I’m stepping back from public life after this year. It’s been a great run, it’s been a great journey. I thank everyone for their support all these years. But I’ll be 64 years old. Ernie [Johnson] asked me to stay two more years, last year was one, this year is two.”
Barkley has said previously this offseason that he intends for this season to be his last, telling Bill Simmons earlier this month that both he and Johnson would be retiring. Then as now, he described the new season as the second of a two-year commitment he made to Johnson.
More than two years ago, Barkley said on-air at the NBA Finals that he would retire at the end of the following season, which was also TNT’s last with NBA rights. That was followed within weeks by him affirming his long-term commitment to TNT. At some point afterwards, he held talks with Amazon and NBCUniversal about roles on their NBA coverage before again committing to TNT. In November 2024, ESPN secured rights to the TNT-produced “Inside the NBA” as part of a settlement of TNT’s lawsuit against the NBA. It was at that point that Barkley says Johnson asked him to stay on for two years to ensure the show would remain in production for the sake of its staffers.
Throughout his playing and broadcasting careers, Barkley has flirted with retirement like few others. He once said he would retire from TNT at age 60, but kept pushing back the timeline — first to the end of his contract at age 61, then through the end of TNT’s rights deal, and now through this coming season. That period also coincides with a public flirtation with LIV Golf that ended with him signing a new ten-year contract with TNT in 2022.
As with his playing career, eventually one of his retirement announcements will stick. This year seems more likely than most, given the uncertain future of TNT Sports as its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is poised to be absorbed by Paramount.
In addition to his role on “Inside the NBA,” which now serves as the studio show for ABC’s NBA Finals coverage, Barkley has been part of the CBS/TNT Sports NCAA men’s basketball tournament studio since 2011.
