Another day of Chuck playing Oracle. While on The Stephen A. Smith Show, both TNT and ESPN veterans discussed the future of their jobs as well as the players. Streaming titans like Amazon and Apple are interested in NBA TV rights, which are currently with Charles Barkley and Stephen A. Smith’s employers. But with trillionaires potentially entering the basketball business, Barkley sees fat paychecks in everyone’s futures.

“We already know the next bidding is going to start at $4 billion,” Barkley said about the existing deal expiring in 2025. “And then Amazon and Apple are coming in. We’re gonna have guys probably making $70, $80, $90, $100 million in the next five years. That’s going to be crazy.”

With the current deal expiring next year, NBA media rights could expand to digital platforms the way the NFL has done. With the potential to double the value, player salaries could hit the stratosphere. “God bless them but think about that we got three guys making over 60 and when we double the TV revenue and put it on more platforms we going to have guys making 70, $80, $90, probably $100 million in the next 5 to 10 years.”

In 2014, the NBA, Walt Disney Co. (ESPN’s parent company) and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (TNT’s parent company) agreed to a nine-year deal worth $24 billion. As Barkley said, that deal was worth $2.7 billion annually. The deal also gave big boosts to player contracts and increased franchise values to billions.

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It’s already happening. The increased revenue translated to an increased salary cap, bringing NBA salaries over $50 million. Shortly after the new media rights deal, analysts predict the first $60 million player in the league.

Everyone sees a raise in the future

Currently, Stephen Curry maintains his reign as the highest-earning NBA player with a salary close to $52 million annually. Several NBA analysts have estimated that Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Nikola Jokić, and Jaylen Brown will surpass him in the 2026-27 season with salaries of over $60 million. Brown signed the richest deal in NBA history last year worth $304 million over 5 years.

As for Barkley and Smith, they might have to go where the media rights go. Smith hasn’t listed his future plans yet. However, Barkley has teased the idea of retirement more than once. He, along with the rest of the Inside Guys, signed $100 million deals to stay at TNT.

Barkley might not stay till the end of the contract, though. In fact, when he brought up the NBA media rights discussion before, he said he might leave before the bidding war even begins. If he does jump ship, he said he wouldn’t consider a deal without the rest of the TNT crew. What kind of future do you see for Charles Barkley and Stephen A. Smith?

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