SI

Charles Barkley Opens Up About His Future and 10-Year, $210 Million Contract

Barkley discusses possible retirement, TNT salary and what’s next for him.

Jimmy Traina

Barkley revealed the details of his TNT contract during Friday’s “Dan Patrick Show” while discussing the NBA’s new TV deal with Amazon.
Barkley revealed the details of his TNT contract during Friday’s “Dan Patrick Show” while discussing the NBA’s new TV deal with Amazon. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

1. Would any other sports media figure besides Charles Barkley go on a hugely popular sports talk show and reveal their salary?

Sure, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo once told the world he makes $10,000 for each of his First Take appearances, but that was on the Howard Stern Show, where people can’t help but to confess things.

Barkley dropped his large contract numbers during Friday’s Dan Patrick Show while discussing his future after the NBA rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s matching offer of Amazon’s deal in the new television package.

“There’s been a lot of numbers thrown around about my deal, which I always find fascinating,” said Barkley. “But I’ve never told people exactly what my deal was. My deal is 10 years, $210 million. Next year, we’re at Year 3. Turner has to come to me today or next week and say, ‘Hey, we screwed up. Will you take a pay cut?’ They’re either gonna have to guarantee the whole 10 years and 210 or they have to ask me to take a pay cut, which under no circumstances am I taking a pay cut. Zero chances of me taking a pay cut. So, then I’m gonna politely decline taking a pay cut, because TNT has been great to me, and they’re gonna have to say we guarantee the whole 210 or Charles Wade Barkley’s gonna be a free agent after next year.

“So it’s gonna be a very interesting next few days,” Barkley continued. “I’m not taking a pay cut cause y’all screwed up, so that’s where we’re at. But I don’t see them guaranteeing, so I think I’m gonna be a free agent next summer.”

Barkley added that right now, his intention is to retire, which he announced at the end of the NBA Finals.

“I love TNT so much and the people here,” Barkley told Patrick. “I don’t know if I want to go to another network.”

Barkley did drop a “never say never” when it came to whether he’d postpone his retirement and join another network. He also said he, along with his Inside the NBA partners, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, will “go out with a bang” for the 2024–25 season and that they will “give everything we got” year.

I’ve written before that I didn’t buy Barkley’s retirement announcement and I still don’t buy it.

If TNT was paying Chuck $210 million, he can probably come close to doubling that if he went to Amazon. ESPN and NBC would also be happy to top that number to land the NBA’s biggest and most powerful voice.

2. NBC and the Olympics are off to a hot start when it comes to viewership.

More than 32 million people watched the Games on Saturday, which was a huge increase over the 17 million people who watched the first Saturday from Tokyo Games in 2021.

Meanwhile, Friday’s opening ceremonies pulled in 28.6 million viewers, a 60% increase over the Tokyo Games.

3. The Royals instituted an in-stadium promotion last week where if a ball hits the foul pole, everyone in the ballpark gets a voucher for a free Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich.

So what happened Sunday when the Royals played the Cubs? A Chicago fan robbed the entire stadium of their free sandwich when he reached out and snagged a ball headed right for the foul pole.

4. Good Morning Football finally returned to the NFL Network on Monday and things got off to a memorable start for Kyle Brandt.

5. I love how the announcer said Javy Baez “is known to chase” after the Twins’ catcher set up half a foot off home plate. And Minnesota’s plan worked to perfection.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Fox NFL analyst, Greg Olsen.

Olsen shares his reaction to going viral thanks to a photo from Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo’s wedding, explains why he looked the way he did in that photo and shares his thoughts on wedding etiquette.

Olsen also talks about going into this NFL season as Fox’s No. 2 analyst after being the No. 1 analyst the last two years, what his relationship is like with Tom Brady and winning the Sports Emmy for Best Sports Event Analyst two years in a row.

Other topics discussed with Olsen include whether Comedy Central missed a golden opportunity by not having him roast Tom Brady, what goes on at Tight End University, the best tight end of all time and much more.

Following Olsen, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include thoughts on CBS and Fox’s NFL booths for 2024, Nick Castellanos’ propensity for homering during big news days, Peacock raising its prices, “Veep” and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: In honor of the Olympics, let’s remember this famous SNL sketch.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

Published
Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

Home/NBA