The NBA could be leaving TNT soon, and Charles Barkley could be coming along.
The fan-favorite show Inside the NBA is featured on TNT, and if the network loses basketball broadcasts, the show could go away.
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Although Ernie Johnson has already made it clear that he won’t leave the network if he loses the NBA, Charles Barkley doesn’t feel as loyal.
In an appearance on ESPN Cleveland’s The Really Big Show on Wednesday, Barkley revealed he has a way out of his contract.
“I covered my ass to be honest with you,” Barkley said.
“I just signed a 10-year contract two years ago, but one of the things I did was opt out in a couple of years because I wanted to protect myself when it came to this situation.”
NBC is currently a major competitor to steal the NBA rights from TNT, and Barkley insists he has the ability to go to a competitor if the rights are transferred.
His Inside the NBA co-hosts are likely to have the same skill set, as they have all signed contract extensions with him in 2022.
“I said, ‘If you guys lose the NBA, I want to make sure I can get out of here.’ So I’m actually in a great position,” Barkley said.
“We knew it would be Amazon and Apple, but we didn’t know NBC would come out of nowhere.
“But the only thing I did in particular in my contract was put an exclusion clause.
“Listen, I love TNT, they’ve been great to me. I wanted to make sure that if we lost the NBA in two years, I could be a free agent.”
Barkley was asked by ESPN Cleveland host Tony Rizzo if he would leave TNT if they lost the NBA and he had a simple answer:
“Hell yeah,” Barkley said.
Barkley’s opt-out is likely tied to the end of the NBA’s current media rights deal, which expires at the end of the 2023-25 season.
There’s no telling when the NBA will reach an agreement with any network on the next media rights deal, but whoever it is will likely include Charles Barkley on their show.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
