Charles Barkley Was Willing To Turn Down $100M To Keep TNT Team Safe, ‘That’s All I Was Concerned With’

Charles Barkley is revealing the $100 million he almost missed out on to protect the jobs of the Turner Sports team.

The NBA star appeared on the Dan Le Batard Show on Wednesday, August 14, where he opened up about his decision to remain with Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports division after TNT was left out of the NBA’s new 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Comcast’s NBCUniversal, and Amazon.

According to Barkley, 61, money was a non-factor for him. His main goal was to protect the jobs of the Turner Sports staff, whom he’s been working with as part of NBA on TNT and Inside The NBA with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson Jr.

“The No. 1 thing for me is my people from Turner get to keep their jobs for at least another year,” Barkley said. “That’s all I was concerned with.”

Last month, the NBA secured agreements with Disney, Comcast’s NBCUniversal, and Amazon for three separate game packages, including WNBA games, amounting to $76 billion over 11 years beginning in the 2025-26 season. Due to the deal, the league’s deal with TNT will come to an end during the NBA’s upcoming 2024-25 season.

While Barkley says it “100% was a great feeling” to get offers from outside networks, he ultimately wants to stay with TNT.

“I want to thank all of those networks for reaching out to me,” the two-time NBA Hall of Famer said. “It was really humbling and cool, to be honest with you. Even though they were throwing crazy numbers, as long as I got my people safe at TNT, man, I feel really good.”

“Like I say, they’re going to pay me to go and talk about nothing,” Barkley jokingly added. “I probably would’ve had to do an honest day’s work if I went to one of those other networks.”

The NBA alum signed a 10-year deal with TNT Sports in 2022, where he serves as a commentator on the award-winning NBA on TNT and Inside the NBA. However, the NBA’s TNT partnership will end next season, and the network plans to take legal action.

Barkley has been outspoken about how the NBA’s new deal will impact the people who worked behind the scenes at TNT.

“It’s a sad day when owners and commissioners choose money over the fans. It just sucks,” he wrote on Instagram last month. “I just want to thank everyone who has been at Turner for 24 years. They are the best people and the most talented, and they deserve better. I also want to thank the NBA and its fans – the best fans in sports. We’re going to give you everything we have next season.”