Charles Barkley addresses future with TNT, ESPN, offers from NBC, Amazon

NBA analyst Charles Barkley addressed his future in broadcasting on The Steam Room podcast this week, revealing what’s next for him with his television career.

NBC and Amazon made a run at Barkley and were interested in hiring him to a lucrative deal to break down the NBA. However, Charles Barkley shared that he will not be joining either of those networks.

“I want to talk about my future, because there’s been a lot of stuff going on I hear about my future. And I want to make everything perfectly clear,” Charles Barkley said. “I’m informing NBC that I will not accept their offer. I’m going to cancel my future meetings with Amazon.

“I want to thank NBC… for offering me a contract. I wanna thank the guys at Amazon. Y’all have been amazing. But my heart has always and will be at Turner Sports.”

ABC and ESPN have the rights to TNT’s hit show Inside the NBA, beginning for the 2025-26 season. With that said, Barkley hasn’t committed to staying with the show as it transitions to ESPN. He doesn’t want his workload to increase as the show changes networks.

“The only thing I’m waiting on right now, between TNT and ESPN, I met with ESPN. Those guys were amazing. I want to thank those guys for taking the time. And I just met with the TNT people. I’m hoping that this thing comes together where I can stay with TNT and ESPN,” Barkley said. “But as I’ve said, it’s all going to be dictated on my workload. I’m not going to work more as I get older.”

Charles Barkley is 61-years-old and clearly doesn’t want to take on a huge workload as he continues into his 60s.

He has previously said that he doesn’t want to appear on shows and podcasts as much as ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith does.

“I’m going to sit down with ESPN and TNT more, because I just need to know if I’m going to continue working. And that’s my only decision going forward, how much I’m going to work,” Barkley said. “But I just want to thank everybody who’s been a part of this TNT thing, man. You guys are amazing and I love you to death. And I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving here, because 25 years is a long time.”

Barkley added that he will consult with several friends in the business, including some who work at ESPN, before making a final decision about his future.

“I have a good group of friends – Mike Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser, Bryant Gumbel, Ahmad Rashad. I’ve always asked their opinion on what I should do television wise,” Barkley explained. “Those guys have been great friends and mentors. And like I said, I’m going to sit down with those guys, ‘Hey, this is what TNT and ESPN are offering me as far as a workload.’ So I just wanted to get that off my chest.”