Charles Barkley Remains Loyal to $100 Million Contract as Inside the NBA’s Future Remains Uncertain With NBC’s Exorbitant Offer

With the league looking to finalize the new broadcasting deal in the upcoming weeks, the fan-favorite show might not have much to celebrate. The latest reports confirm that the league is looking at ESPN, NBC, and, Amazon as new partners. Charles Barkley has once again given a hint at his future if the inevitable happens.

On SiriusXM NBA Radio, Barkley spoke on the future of the NBA on TNT. “It sucks right now. Uh, for the people I work with, man, it just sucks right now. Uh, there’s nothing I can say, you know, because I’m worried about all the people I work with.” He feels bad as close to 200 people could lose their jobs at Turner. Barkley also provided his future updates that might not please the fans of the show.

Barkley previously stated that he was looking for a new job as a joke. With the announcement schedule of the upcoming NBA Awards, Chuck asked, “Wait, 2 ‘0 clock tomorrow afternoon?” He then clarified and said, “We are not doing that, are we? Because I am gonna be on LinkedIn tomorrow afternoon.” The 11x NBA All-Star was offered a 10-year contract worth well over $100 million back in 2022.

“You know, man, I just turned 61. I got enough money and we, I don’t even look at it as getting fired.” Barkley emphasized that he was not particularly looking for a new job and instead would like fishing. “I’m like, please hurry and get this Western conference finals over because I can play golf every day for the next four months and I love it, man. You know, I play golf every single day or I go fishing. I love doing nothing.”

However, Barkley also said that he was not 100% sure what he would do. He was open to listening to offers before deciding his future. But he revealed the future of one of his panelists at ‘Inside the NBA’.

Charles Barkley talks about Ernie Johnson

Even though ‘Sir Charles’ wasn’t sure about his future, he was pretty sure what Johnson was going to do next. According to Barkley, if there is no agreement between WBD and NBA then ‘Inside the NBA’ might not feature Johnson. “First of all, I know Ernie would not go anywhere else. You know, Ernie’s almost 70 years old. I think he’s gonna retire sooner than later.”

Barkley didn’t want to speculate on whether the show would be picked by any other competitor. He was not sure what the final contractual obligation was decided between Amazon, ESPN, or NBC. He once again clarified that the show’s future is in the dark and he was not sure about it but revealed Johnson’s plans once again. “I mean, Ernie would not go to another network, I’m damn sure about that.”

So it seems Johnson has decided his future, as per Barkley. But surely it isn’t the end of Charles Barkley’s broadcasting career. With his straightforward opinions and his witty sense of humor surely other broadcasters will be waiting to offer him a new contract. And it might even have some extra days off so ‘Sir Charles’ can continue fishing in peace.