Charles Barkley, TNT Agree to Nine-Figure Contract, per Report

The NBA analyst reportedly will be contractually tied to the network for 10 years.

Charles Barkley isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

The Basketball Hall of Famer has agreed to a new 10-year contract with TNT to remain a part of Inside the NBA, according to The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand. Barkley’s deal was set to expire in three years, so TNT added seven more years on the back end to tie him and the network together for another decade.

Per Marchand, the deal is expected to be worth more than $100 million and could reach close to $200 million if Barkley remains with TNT for the entirety of the deal.

TNT officially announced it not only signed Barkley, but also agreed to new deals with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. TNT’s network deal with the NBA expires in three years.

“We’re all a big family. Ernie, Kenny and Shaquille are brothers to me, and I wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for them and all the amazing people who work on our show,” Barkley said in a statement. “I’m not gonna lie, though, this is a life-altering deal…and I’m blessed to be able to do live television for a living.”

Last week, Warner Brothers Discovery chief content officer Kathleen Finch indicated that Barkley was getting a new deal in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, but she then walked back those comments saying she “jumped the gun” with that information.

Over the summer, LIV Golf reportedly pursued Barkley to be a part of its coverage, and Barkley admitted he would consider it for an “astronomical” amount of money. In an interview with The Dan Patrick Show in July, Barkley said he had met with LIV Golf commissioner Greg Norman and that TNT was “quiet” about a new contract at that time.

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