CHARLES Barkley has revealed he plans to give 50 Inside the NBA team members $5,000 each in cash.
The 61-year-old former NBA star has been a pivotal figure in the show’s popularity since its debut in 2000.
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The status of Inside beyond the 2024-25 season remains in great doubt after Warner Bros. Discovery was unable to close a portion of the league’s new TV deal.
With the NBA announcing 11-year deals to broadcast games on Amazon Prime Video, Disney and NBC – Barkley is determined that TNT team members keep their jobs.
After previously stating he would retire after next season, Barkley did an about-face – promising to stick with Turner.
And appearing in Dan PatrickShowBarkley revealed the bold gesture he plans to make for his co-workers.
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He said: “I’ve never been fired before and had to worry about something and hear the stress in their voices…
“I’m going to tell you something that I haven’t told anyone. There are about 50 employees that I’m donating $5,000 each to to show how much I love and appreciate them.
“Our government and Turner are trying to make them pay taxes on this.
“Now I’m trying to get the money. If you can help me get the money… they won’t pay taxes on it.”
According to the Wall Street JournalTNT could rename its famous show Inside Sports.
The network will still broadcast college basketball and football, as well as baseball, hockey and tennis.
Although he became a household name in basketball, Barkley also worked as a golf and hockey analyst.
The NBA’s new 11-year deal, which sees NBC and Amazon Prime Video join alongside ESPN, is worth $77 billion.
Speaking with Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George on his PodcastP show last week, Barkley revealed why he thinks ESPN will never match the chemistry shared between him and TNT friends Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith.
He said: “I don’t know if anyone has ever given it a chance, to be honest with you.
What does the new TV deal mean for the NBA?
By US Sun Assistant Sports Editor Damian Burchardt.
The new television rights deal promises to be a big win for NBA players.
The league is expected to more than double revenue from its media partners, pocketing around $6.9 billion per year, which will inevitably lead to a huge salary cap increase in 2025-26.
This will cause the value of players’ contracts to skyrocket.
Projected numbers suggest we could see the first $100 million per year deal being signed soon.
Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum is currently set to earn the highest single-season salary in NBA history, bringing in $71.5 million in 2029-30.
If TNT Sports successfully fulfills one of its bids to maintain its decades-long partnership with the league, basketball fans will also be on the winning side.
The network’s flagship Inside the NBA is a unique sports entertainment program, as evidenced by ESPN’s continued failure to present its own version of the show in recent years.
The NBA wouldn’t be the same without Kenny and Ernie trying to make sense of Shaq and Chuck’s endless fights every Tuesday night.
“ESPN, which I love, never gives anyone a chance to have chemistry.
“They’re all throwing things at the wall, ‘Like, let’s put this group together,’ and they’ll do that for six months to a year.
“And then they say, ‘It didn’t work.’ Well, you didn’t give it a chance to work.”
He then confirmed his decision to continue with TNT, despite holding talks with other broadcasters.
Barkley said: “I love my TNT Sports family. My number 1 priority was and always will be our people and keeping everyone together for as long as possible.
“I look forward to continuing to work with them both on the programs we currently have and the new ones we will develop together in the future.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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