“This year is going to be weird obviously it’s going to be like a farewell tour.” Mark Cuban said what every fan of the ‘Inside the NBA’ show has been feeling. With TNT still in the legal battle with the NBA, regarding the media rights deal, the future doesn’t seem bright. Despite the gloomy future, the Dallas Mavericks minority owner might have an interesting suggestion for Shaquille O’Neal and Co. to increase their net worth.

“Particularly to new streaming platforms that are trying to establish themselves. You know if Apple ever goes into it, boom you guys are the perfect addition.” Mark Cuban continued, “Amazon, trying to establish themselves. You know they’re going to want known names and so you know, I think your guys are gonna be tripling the Tom Brady contract.” To put that in context, the NFL legend reportedly signed a 10-year, $375 million deal from Fox.

The 4x NBA Champion currently earns $10 million a year for his analyst duties. It won’t be a Shaquille O’Neal podcast without the mention of Rudy Gobert. “I want the Rudy Gobert numbers,” and the Wolves star currently has a 5 year $205,000,002 contract. But this year, his salary cap will be $43,827,587.

The Shark Tank famed judge also explained how the business model for watching sports has changed. Previously, it was all in one package thanks to TV deals, but with the emergence of OTT platforms, the game has changed. Pointing out the fact that fans can easily cancel or start their monthly membership for any medium. For that, the content has to be good.

“Content that keeps you coming back is critical. And so that’s why something like ‘Inside the NBA’ can keep people coming back because you have a fan base that people want to stay connected to.” Mark Cuban said via Big Podcast.

Mark Cuban reiterated the same message to Shaquille O’Neal’s 2024 rival

During his appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Cuban spoke about how the league was not at fault amidst the TNT battle. Since the NBA sponsorship was the last big money deal, there were enough patterns that suggested the increase in the value. “How do you keep linear TV alive?”

The answer was very simple, and it was sports. “You need sports and the NFL’s already locked up, so who’s next and so if you’re going to stay alive, you needed us.” Earlier this year, Shaquille O’Neal’s best friend and co-host called the players and owners “greedy.” Charles Barkley felt that the fans lost out since not everyone could afford different OTT packages. But Mark Cuban disagreed on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast.

“Like why would we not take that money? And I mean 51% goes to the players, so they were happy about it too.” After all, the deal is worth $76 billion for 11 years. Ultimately, the battle is still in court, but many have already predicted it to be the farewell for TNT and the NBA. But with the emergence of OTT platforms, people like Mark Cuban think the show could be purchased by one of the streaming giants. Thus, a huge payday for the cast and crew of the Inside show.