HELL YES - Charles Barkley Will Be On Our TVs For Another Decade After Reportedly Landing A Deal With TNT That's Close To $200 Million
Hell yes. This is the sort of news that needs to come out on a Monday (even a Victory Monday for us Giants fans). Charles Barkley put together a masterclass in negotiations this summer. Remember he was rumored to join the LIV Tour and ultimately declined/didn't get a deal. Now he turns that into a nearly $200 million contract at TNT? Perfect.
And even if TNT loses rights he'll still be doing something
[Post] - Barkley currently has three years left on a contract that pays him $10 million per season. His current contract coincides with TNT’s agreement with the NBA deal expiring after the 2024-25 season. If Turner were not to keep the NBA, Barkley could potentially own rights to go work for another network or a digital platform, if Amazon or Apple or others are involved.
Sidenote - can we just keep shit on their normal channels? My brain is programmed to turn to certain things at certain times. I'm already having to adjust to Amazon on TNF, I don't need to add it to NBA. It belongs on TNT just like AFC games belong on CBS and NFC games on FOX.
Charles Barkley was made to be in the studio with Ernie, Shaq and Kenny Smith for life. I know he's one of the greatest basketball players in the history of the league. I know he won a MVP. But Chuck really became Chuck with a mic in front of him. Even back to his playing days he was electric on the mic - most notably calling out Angola at the Olympics.
Fast forward and we now know we have Chuck on TNT for a decade. That's awesome because Inside the NBA is the best studio show in sports. Is it hard hitting analysis? Of course not. But what other studio show can accurately break down the police being called to a locker room:
I don't care how many seasons we are in of this, Inside the NBA just keeps delivering. They have the perfect chemistry and losing Chuck would have been brutal. You can't have Shaq just sit there with Kenny Smith. He needs someone to go at him. Kenny ain't that guy. That's what makes him vs Chuck so good. You also can't just put anyone else in that group and have it work.
The band stays together and that's good for everyone.
