Charles Barkley already answered the prayers of thousands of Inside The NBA fans by walking back his retirement talk from earlier this year. In a new interview, the basketball legend says he left $100 million on the table to remain with Turner Sports and helped save jobs in the process.
Charles Barkley, 61, was a guest on The Dan Le Batard Show and shared details from his vantage point on Turner Sports losing out on the new NBA media rights deal, which would begin after the upcoming 2024-25 season. The Chuckster, who has been vocally loyal to the Inside The NBA studio staff, says he turned down bigger offers to help keep his team intact and employed.
“The number one thing for me is my people from Turner get to keep their jobs for at least another year,” Barkley said to Le Batard. “That’s all I was concerned with.”
Barkley added that he was courted by several suitors but decided to not leave his TNT crew in a lurch.
“I want to thank all of those networks for reaching out to me. It was really humbling and cool, to be honest with you. Even though they were throwing crazy numbers, like damn, but as long as I got my people safe at TNT man, I feel really good,” Barkley said.
It appears that the Inside The NBA crew will continue beyond the end of the NBA’s contract with Turner Sports. The NBA’s new 11-year deal will bring games to NBC and Amazon Prime Video, along with ESPN.
Charles Barkley also covers the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament by way of a media partnership with Turner Sports and CBS.
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Photo: Getty
