As Turner Sports’ breakup with the league is evident considering the media rights lawsuit and confirmation stamp on the new deal with Amazon, Disney, and NBC, the ‘Inside the NBA’ show’s future hangs in limbo. One of the key parts of the show was its hosting quartet, including Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal. Fans of the iconic show were almost ready to say goodbye as the league rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s 11-year $20.4 Billion offer. However, hope was reignited after media vet Joe Budden provided a promising update.

While discussing the new media rights deal and the possibilities of ‘Inside the NBA’ shutting down, Joe revealed on his ‘Joe Budden TV’ podcast, “What I saw floating around was that people were offering $20 million for the cast or the show.” It was a staggering amount since one of the co-hosts of Budden asked if the offer was for each member of the panel. However, Budden refused that query as it was a combined amount for either the panel or acquiring the show as a whole.

What’s worth noting is that about a week ago, Charles Barkley confessed to Dan Patrick, “Everything’s on the table. I’ve spoken to all three networks. Dan, who got the NBA going forward. Let me say this: for the last three months, I have spoken to all the networks.” Supposedly retiring, Barkley admitted that he’s “gonna listen” to the offers, though his “intention is to retire”.

With what seems like a possible return, Joe Budden’s claims of channels offering $20 million to resume the show might not be wrong. However, what if they never crack the deal, and Barkley’s fate is sealed with TNT for the rest of his stint? Well, Barkley has it all planned as well.

Charles Barkley is all set for the future, even if he settles with TNT

If the NBC, Amazon, and Disney deal presumably is not realized, Charles Barkley has another fortune as he’ll enter the third year of his $210 million 10-year contract with Turner Sports this year. So, they are responsible for paying the NBA legend his part of the pay despite their circumstances. However, the trouble for the TNT network is that ‘Inside the NBA’ might be entering the last year of its run for the NBA community due to TNT losing its media rights.

Keeping that in mind, it was expected that Barkley would take a pay cut since the channel would lose its primary source of income. However, that does not seem to be the case with Barkley as he admitted to the Athletic’s Marchand in a phone interview, “My deal is 10 years, $210 million. Turner has to come to me ASAP and they have to guarantee my whole thing or they can offer me a pay cut, which there is no chance of that happening and I’ll be (a) free agent. My thing was, ‘Wait, y’all f— up, I didn’t f— up, why do I have to take a pay cut?”

From what it looks like, Charles Barkley does not seem to be in the mood for retirement, considering his deal narratives and quest for employment opportunities. He’s got offers from other networks and his current deal, or he can continue the show anywhere else. He has got it all and only has to choose the best fit. Well, that’s all; make sure to visit again once we get the latest updates on Barkley’s endeavors.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.