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Charles Barkley makes bombshell decision on his TNT future after speculation NBA legend was set to retire
Charles Barkley will be staying with TNT through the remainder of his 10-year, $210million contract despite the company no longer carrying NBA games after next season.
This comes as a surprise after Barkley announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2024-25 NBA season.
It also effectively signals the end of a bidding war for Barkley's services between ESPN, NBC, and Amazon - who all showed interest in bringing the Hall-of-Famer into their stables for NBA coverage.
'I love my TNT Sports Family. My #1 priority has been and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible,' Barkley said in a statement.
'We have the most amazing people, and they are the best at what they. I am looking forward to continuing to work with them both on the shows we currently have and new ones we develop together in the future. This is the only place for me.
Charles Barkley will be staying at TNT, ending a possible bidding war for his services
Barkley previously pledged that he would retire from broadcasting after the 2024-25 season
'I have to say ... I've been impressed by the leadership team who is fighting hard and have been aggressive in adding new properties to TNT Sports, which I am very excited about.
'I appreciate them and all of my colleagues for their continued support, and most importantly our fans. I'm going to give my all as we keep them entertained for years to come.'
Even though they are set to lose rights to the NBA, TNT parent company Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) still has plenty of sports to cover - with the rights to March Madness and college football as well as the NHL and MLB.
WBD has sued the NBA over the league denying the network's matching offer for Amazon's rights package.
'Given the NBA's unjustified rejection of our matching of a third-party offer, we have taken legal action to enforce our rights,' TNT Sports said in a statement when the suit was announced at the end of July.
'We strongly believe this is not just our contractual right, but also in the best interest of fans who want to keep watching our industry-leading NBA content with the choice and flexibility we offer them through our widely distributed WBD video-first distribution platforms – including TNT and Max.'
The NBA countered: 'Warner Bros. Discovery's claims are without merit and our lawyers will address them.'