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CHARLES Barkley opened up on his TNT contract which has a clause in it.
The NBA legend, 61, recently shared the details of the process of signing a long-term contract with TNT, which has question marks after losing the NBA’s media rights after the 2024-25 season.
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Barkley surprised the sports media world after he announced last week he will not retire following next season and will continue to work for TNT.
The NBA Hall of Famer is a star on the hit program Inside the NBA.
Last Thursday, Barkley appeared on ESPN’s Amber & Ian podcast and revealed his mission – giving his behind-the-scenes TNT colleagues cash gifts.
Barkley appeared on The Dan Patrick Show on the same day and confirmed that TNT’s Inside the NBA will continue past the 2024-25 basketball season.
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He also shared his contract clause while revealing his concern for his TNT co-workers who need employment the most.
“I had a clause in my contract where I could be a free agent if we lost the NBA,” Barkley said.
“(TNT executives) came up and met with me last week, and I said, ‘What are we going to do?’
“My No. 1 priority is keeping as many people employed as possible and I was able to do that. I don’t think we have any idea what we’re going to do.
“I said, ‘I want to keep everybody employed. If I have to take a pay cut, I’ll take a pay cut.’
“They’re like, you don’t have to do that.’ … But my No. 1 goal was to make sure that all the people at Turner were still employed.”
The NBA announced 11-year agreements to air games on Amazon Prime Video, Disney, and NBC, which left WBD-Turner’s workers not knowing what their future held.
Barkley revealed the bold gesture he plans to help his friends at TNT.
“It’s been really dreary at work the last couple of months because hundreds of people are going to lose their job,” Barkley said.
“I’m going to give all 50 people who are in the studio every night downstairs … I’m going to give every one of those people $5,000.
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“That’s how much they mean to me.”
It was reported by the Wall Street Journal that TNT could rebrand its heralded show as Inside Sports.
The network will still broadcast college basketball and football, as well as baseball, hockey, and tennis.
Barkley has been a staple on Inside the NBA since 2000.
He has worked alongside Ernie Johnson, and Kenny “The Jet” Smith since then.
Shaquille O’Neal joined the program after retiring from the NBA in 2010.
