One of the great things about being Charles Barkley is that you get to change your mind. The all-time NBA great and analyst on TNT’s Inside the NBA told Dan Patrick this morning that, despite previously saying he would retire after the 2024-2025 season, he has had discussions with the three newly-crowned NBA rights holders about staying on TV. Related Stories News Charles Barkley Throws Elbow At NBA After It Spurns Turner, Calling It “Sad” When The League & Owners “Choose Money Over The Fans” News NBA Slams Warner Bros Discovery Suit Over TV Rights As “Without Merit”; Media Giant Accuses League Of “Direct Breach” In Awarding Games To Amazon – Update “Everything is on the table,” Barkley told Patrick about whether he might take his talents to NBC or Amazon or ESPN .
The league last week announced it had sealed a new 11-year rights deal with Amazon as well as NBCUniversal and Disney -ESPN, leaving Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT out in the cold. The comments to Patrick came just hours after Barkley ripped the league for putting “money over the fans” in the negotiations.
“It just sucks,” the social media-challenged analyst declared in a statement posted in his name to X. “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 so-called Round Mound of Rebound isn’t against considering a defection himself, however, rather than taking a cut in his 10-year, $210 millio.
