TNT lost the NBA and kept Charles Barkley. Now what? Warner Bros. Discovery took a $9.1 billion hit right after Chuck canceled retirement. Not that they’re related but it does put things into perspective. Barkley stayed back with the intent to save jobs and develop new shows. There’s talk of Inside the NBA rebranding by acquiring other sports media rights. But since the parent company’s stock crashed, the question looms if Turner can afford it. Barkley himself painted a dire situation with his signature humor while on Dan LeBatard’s show.

The last time he was on LeBatard’s show, Chuck and the hosts joked that they should rename the NBA on TNT headliner as Outside the NBA. Barkley now truly feels on the outside because he says, “How about ‘Not the NBA.'” Contrary to the rollercoaster of anger he’d been in the recent months, Chuckster’s humor is a positive sign.

When the show’s hosts expressed the concerns everyone has about rebooting the same 35-year-old show without any concrete plans right now, Barkley said, “You know what’s crazy, I think we’re going to have to pay for highlights.” Imagine that after three decades of doing tipoff, halftime, and postgame shows, now to only chime off on scraps.

They laugh now, but Barkley puts this “fluid” situation into perspective. He’s looking forward to doing the final season of Inside the NBA while the production team brings ideas to them on how to move forward. Barkley is once again willing to experiment with anything as long as his family-like crew of 25 years gets to keep jobs. Even if that means he has to take a pay cut.

Shortly after WBD’s stock crisis, Barkley revealed he offered to take a pay cut to offset production costs. But Turner declined it and he’s continued his 10-year contract worth $210 million. However, it doesn’t mean Barkley didn’t take a pay cut.

Charles Barkley left a huge raise on the table

Before announcing his decision, Barkley said that he was in talks with other networks. He was not keen on starting over with new colleagues though. So he ultimately decided to stay with TNT in a bigger creative role. Sir Charles confirmed to LaBatard that he shunned a hefty payday for that.

As speculated, the new partners in the NBA media package were throwing “crazy numbers” at Barkley. He said that he gave up, “a minimum of $100 million” to stay at TNT. That means he did get upwards of $20 million salary offers by TNT’s rivals.

Yet TNT is now in a situation where aspects of business they took for granted are their only options. Finances aren’t the only thing at play here. There might be issues securing enough content without the NBA compromising on its deals with its partners.

Regardless, Barkley is showing eagerness to reinvent their brand with the same crew. We only need Shaq, Kenny, and Ernie to confirm their staying too.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.