By Charles Barkley says he is retiring from TV after next season, regardless of what happens with TNT’s NBA media rights negotiations.
On the NBA TV postgame show following Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Barkley said that he will retire from television at the end of next season, which is the last of the current NBA media rights deals. There had been considerable speculation regarding the future of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” studio team, of which Barkley is a core member, in the event that TNT lost the rights. Barkley appears to have put an end to that conversation.
Barkley has hinted toward retirement at various points throughout his broadcasting career, but his statement Friday was the first time that he has definitively stated his intentions.
His retirement announcement means that even if TNT holds onto some semblance of its NBA package, “Inside the NBA” as it has been known will end at the end of next season. Barkley joined fresh out of his playing career in 2000, turbocharging a show that already consisted of Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith. The trio of Johnson, Smith and Barkley has worked together continuously for nearly a quarter-century, joined since 2011 by Shaquille O’Neal.
As definitive as Barkley’s statement seemed Friday night, it should be noted that he has waffled on his future intentions dating back to his days as a player. He repeatedly weighed retirement during his playing days, but it was not until a serious injury in 1999 that he made it official (and even then, considered a return at various points). He has toyed with running for political office, and more recently joining LIV Golf as an announcer, before ultimately continuing with TNT.
He said Friday that he has spoken with all of the networks regarding future plans, and there is little doubt that there will be additional overtures over the next year — presumably lucrative ones, given his popularity.
