Insiders: Networks will court Charles Barkley if TNT loses NBA rights

The NBA could soon leave TNT, and popular studio analyst Charles Barkley may follow.

In an article exploring NBA media issues, The Athletic's Andrew Marchand and Richard Deitsch noted Barkley could go "wherever he wants" if TNT loses the NBA. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported the league is nearing an 11-year, $76B deal with NBC, Amazon and ESPN.  

"I know ESPN, Amazon and NBC are interested in him, according to executives briefed on their plans," wrote Marchand. "If TNT Sports loses the NBA, I'm not sure Barkley is just totally free to do whatever he wants — though it might end up that way — especially if he continues to go after Warner Bros. Discovery chairman David Zaslav."

Per Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, TNT is trying to secure a fourth media-rights package in a last-minute bid. Regardless, the future of TNT's studio show "Inside The NBA," which features Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal, and Barkley, remains murky. 

Marchand suggested networks may try to find a way to keep them together. However, Johnson reportedly plans to stay at TNT even if it loses the NBA.   

During a recent appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show," Barkley revealed he has considered signing the show's personnel to his production company — Fine Line Productions — and shopping it to other networks. 

But would Barkley ditch this idea if he receives a massive offer? In October 2022, the Hall of Famer signed a 10-year, $100M contract with TNT. It appears other networks may be willing to top that amount. Deitsch speculated that Barkley's new deal could be worth $20M annually, and NBC would aggressively pursue him.