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Charles Barkley Turned Down Contract Offer To Leave Turner Sports

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Feb 4, 2025 11:03 AM ET

Charles Barkley announced that he won't work for anyone other than Turner Sports.

Barkley initially announced plans to retire after the 2024-25 season when TNT lost its NBA broadcasting rights. However, he later reversed course and kept the door open for a possible move to one of the league's new broadcasting partners, NBC or Amazon. ESPN also reached an agreement to license Inside The NBA from Turner Sports, so Barkley could continue working for his current employer.

On an episode of The Steam Room podcast with Inside The NBA host Ernie Johnson, Barkley revealed that he's rejecting a contract offer from NBC and ceasing talks with Amazon.

"I'm informing NBC that I will not accept their offer," Barkley said, via Awful Announcing. "I'm going to cancel my future meetings with Amazon. I want to thank NBC, especially Mark Lazarus and Greg Hughes for offering me a contract. I want to thank the guys at Amazon. Y'all have been amazing, but my heart is always and will be at Turner Sports."

Barkley said he's met with TNT and ESPN, calling the ESPN representatives "amazing." With that said, the Hall of Famer has not committed to making the network switch yet.

The 61-year-old has previously identified the work schedule as his main concern.

"I'm hoping that this thing comes together and I can stay at TNT and ESPN," Barkley said. "But as I've said, it's all gonna be dictated on my workload. I'm not gonna work more as I get older."

Now that he's no longer shopping his services elsewhere, Barkley said his "only decision" is whether he'll continue working and how much he'd work.

"I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving here," Barkley said of Turner, "'cause 25 years is a long time."

Barkley said he'll consult mentors such as Pardon The Interruption co-hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser before making his decision.

"I just want to know how much I'm gonna work," Barkley reiterated. "... This has been the best job ever. We work one day a week. I'm not sure I'm gonna work a lot more, and you can be sure of that."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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