Charles Barkley Claims He Left $100M On The Table To Protect The Jobs Of People At TNT

final inside the nba of 2023 season

TNT


National treasure Charles Barkley says that he left $100 million on the table by remaining at Turner Sports despite the network losing its NBA broadcasting rights following the conclusion of the 2024/25 NBA season.

According to Charles Barkley, who was speaking on the Dan LeBatard Show, a major motivating factor in remaining at TNT was protecting the jobs of those who work at Inside The NBA, which is reportedly set to be reimagined as an all-encompassing sports show.

“It was a great feeling and I want to thank all those networks for reaching out to me. It was really humbling and cool. It was humbling and cool. It was really humbling and cool to be honest with you,” Barkley told Le Batard.

“But I wasn’t even thinking, like I said Dan, even though they were throwing crazy numbers, I was like damn. But, long as I got my people safe at TNT man, I feel really good. Like I say, they gonna pay me to go and talk about nothing so I don’t want to look a gift horse in a mouth. Hey Dan, I probably would have had to do an honest day’s work if I went to one of those other networks.”

TNT/Turner Sports (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) losing its NBA broadcasting rights has been one of the sports stories of the summer, as the network has taken legal action against the NBA for accepting the bids of ABC/ESPN, Prime Video, and NBC over theirs.

TNT reportedly had a clause in its contract that would allow it to match the bid of a competing network and is accusing the NBA of violating this agreement. TNT tried to match Amazon’s offer but was told it was insufficient.

The specific language of TNT’s contract with the NBA states that the league may not “enter into an agreement or agreements with any third party or parties” without Turner Sports being allowed to match it.

According to Barkley, the NBA did not want to re-up its deal with Turner Sports because it was looking to appease larger companies that would be able to pay for the rights when they “double in the future.”

“Clearly the NBA has wanted to break up with us from the beginning,” Barkley said in a statement about TNT losing its NBA rights earlier this summer.

“I’m not sure TNT ever had a chance. TNT matched the money, but the league knows Amazon and these tech companies are the only ones willing to pay for the rights when they double in the future. The NBA didn’t want to piss them off.”

If TNT does lose the rights to the NBA, then the 2024/25 season will be the final for the 19-time Emmy-winning Inside The NBA, which first premiered in 1989.