Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

TNT hints at taking legal action against NBA after having 'matching' TV rights proposal rejected

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated Jul 25, 2024 8:56 AM ET

The NBA rejected Turner Sports' final proposal to retain broadcasting rights on Wednesday. While the news ends a fruitful, decades-long partnership, the situation may be far from over.

TNT released a statement responding to the NBA, insinuating that it may feel that the league pulled the wool over its eyes.

"We think they have grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights with respect to the 2025-26 season and beyond, and we will take appropriate action," read a statement from TNT Sports.

On July 22, TNT announced that it had submitted paperwork to the league matching one of the bids. However, per the NBA's statement, the latest proposal "did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video's offer," which is reportedly $1.8 billion.

NBA announces that Warner Bros. Discovery did not match the terms of Amazon Prime and are agreeing to a longterm arrangement with Amazon. pic.twitter.com/5bYI2i1vFd
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 24, 2024

The language used by the league could play an essential role in how things unfold in the future. If TNT can prove that it did indeed deliver a matching offer and the NBA still rejected it, things could get messy fast.

According to Ben Strauss of the Washington Post, legal action is a given.

"Warner can now mull its options, including suing the league," Strauss wrote. "One thing is certain: There will be lawyers and likely a lot of billable hours."

When the 2024-25 NBA campaign begins, TNT, with a season of broadcasting rights remaining, may be suing the league while it also promotes its games. But, as Andrew Marchand and Ben Pickman of The Athletic surmised, the NBA may want to avoid that ugly possibility, which could benefit the network.

"Neither side would likely want to enter a legal case, where private conversations could become public during discovery," Marchand and Pickman's column read. "If TNT does file a suit, it could lead to more talks and a possible compromise with other NBA rights or financial possibilities being the outcome."

Shortly after revealing its decision to reject TNT's latest offer, the NBA formally announced a new 11-year, $77 billion broadcasting rights agreement. Effective at the start of the 2025-26 season, the deal sees the league retain its existing partnership with the Walt Disney Company and ESPN while adding NBC and now Amazon Prime to the mix.

Mike Santa Barbara

Mike Santa Barbara is a Wilmington, Delaware native (Yes, it's a real place) with over a decade of sports writing experience. A diehard Philadelphia sports fan, he has two dogs named after Flyers and cried real tears when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. You can follow him on Twitter at @mike__sb

More must-reads: