Charles Barkley Confirms Fights Behind Closed Doors as ESPN & TNT Remains Tight-Lipped

“It’s an honor and a privilege to work for ESPN, but I’m not gonna be going on First Take, Get Up, SportsCenter, Pat McAfee,” Barkley emphasized he won’t overextend across ESPN’s expanded lineup. The new media rights deal strips TNT of game broadcasts, yet Inside the NBA lives on—now under ESPN’s banner. Despite this being reported long ago, Chuck still has issues with this deal.

First, let’s analyze the situation a bit. The TNT analyst was all set to retire after this season. He made that announcement during the postseason last year in June. But in August, that decision was reversed, and the 76ers legend agreed to fulfill his 10-year contract, which he signed in 2022. Yet one nagging frustration remained for Barkley amid those negotiations, which has been a cause of concern for the longest time.

“Well, that’s one thing that’s been very interesting and frustrating for me. We actually don’t have any idea how this ain’t going to work, we have no idea how much we’re gonna work. We don’t know who we’re going to work with,” said Charles Barkley in his latest interview on OutKick. Those behind-the-scenes uncertainties have only deepened.

“One of the most frustrating things and one of the reasons I hesitate to sign off on a deal. You know, we’ve been fighting behind closed doors. I’m like, I’m not taking no job, one the most important thing is how much I’m going to work.” Barkley previously griped about ‘working like dogs’ under ESPN’s machine. But with postseason reaching the semifinals stage, one would have thought the details would have been ironed out. However, that’s not the case in this situation.

Charles Barkley’s previous rant about TNT executives keeping them in the dark

ESPN will license and air the show on its network, but TNT holds all the creative calls. So, the essence of the 21 Emmy-award-winning show won’t change. And it feels the 62-year-old’s love-hate relationship with the network is also not changing. When the network lost the NBA deal, Chuck was loud and called his bosses “fools” and venomously criticized them for failing to negotiate a new NBA media rights deal. Plus, the way they were kept in the dark when the entire situation was unfolding was another problem for the Auburn alum.

Charles Barkley claimed that neither he, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, or Ernie Johnson were told by TNT that they had “lost the NBA” in the rights deal. “We’re playing golf and checking articles on the internet.” This was Chuck’s statement just last month. Another issue was his co-host’s contractual negotiations.

“Kenny and Shaq didn’t even have a contract. Not only did you not tell us, you signed the deal with ESPN, and Kenny and Shaq are not even in the contract. How unprofessional is that?” Eventually, the two inked the deal, and for now, we can only say the crew is set to return next year on ESPN. But the how and when details are still missing. Which is frustrating for Charles Barkley and the fans of the show.