Can you imagine the regular NBA seasons without Shaqtin a Fool, EJ’s Neat-o-Stat, Kenny’s Race to the Board, and the Chuck Guarantee? It looks like we might have to get used to that soon as situations behind the scenes are what Charles Barkley views as “very stressful.”

Charles Barkley is hinting that changes could be coming to TNT and it’s not necessarily the NBA finding a new media home. While on The Dan Patrick Show, Chuck disclosed that the contracts of the Inside Guys are also up in the air along with the NBA media rights. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Comcast which is NBC’s parent company has bid to offer double the money TNT pays for NBA rights (a hefty $2.5 billion/year as opposed to TNT’s $1.2 billion/year)

Besides the NBA media rights, the TNT crew’s futures also hinge on the glue that holds them together, aka, Ernie Johnson. After all, he has been hosting the show since it began in 1989. Besides The Godfather, the current panel of Inside the NBA has stayed the same since 2011, when Shaquille O’Neal retired from the NBA. Moreover, Kenny “The Jet” Smith joined in 1998 and Charles Barkley in 2000.

In 2022, the TNT core signed multi-million 10-year contract extensions. But as Chuck now revealed, the contracts came with a clause. He confirmed that he only agreed to the extension if there was an “opt-out” clause in case TNT doesn’t retain the NBA TV rights when they expire next year. Amazon Prime reportedly struck a deal with the league as a broadcast partner starting from the 2025-26 season but it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of NBA on ESPN and TNT. As much as Chuck loves his TNT family, he said he had to ensure he’s covered in case there’s no basketball on the network.

“I want to make it clear; I love TNT,” Barkley told Patrick on Friday. “I love everybody at TNT, and they’ve been great for me. But I don’t want to be in limbo if we lose the NBA. That wouldn’t be fair to me.”

He didn’t specify if that’s the case for Shaq and Kenny too. The closest Shaq has hinted at leaving was at his Orlando Magic jersey retirement in February. O’Neal has aspirations to be an NBA team owner, especially bringing the NBA expansion team to Las Vegas. But he said at the ceremony that he’d leave TNT if the DeVos family had an opening in the Magic’s ownership group. It doesn’t feel like a joke after what Chuck has said.

“To the DeVos family: Whenever you want me to quit TNT and come back home, you give me a call,” O’Neal said in his retirement ceremony. “I’ll be here in an instant.”

But Chuck wondered aloud if Inside the NBA could work without The Godfather. Ernie, who was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2023 after three decades, would likely not leave TNT under any circumstances. Inside the NBA would not be the same without Ernie who has been the only constant in a changing lineup.

Besides, Ernie has multiple other responsibilities at TNT including their baseball coverage. He also covers golf with Chuck and co-hosts the TNT podcast, The Steam Room, which originated on Inside the NBA’s infamous bracelet story. Ernie is deeply embedded in TNT sports and can’t walk away from it even if there’s no basketball. That is not the case for the retired pros-turned-analysts.

If the situation demands an exit, Chuck would find it hard to move on without this one person

Inside the NBA has collected 18 Sports Emmy Awards and even more nominations throughout its run. Most of the show’s awards are because of Ernie and Chuck. Though Magic Johnson and Reggie Miller had stints on the Inside desk, the Shaq-Chuck-Kenny combination with Ernie is the most memorable, not just for the analysis but also for the entertainment. Every time Shaq and Chuck threaten each other or gang up on Kenny, fans wish this show never went off air. But some change is bound to happen now that Amazon Prime is in the picture.

In 2023, Chuck had been hinting at those changes in every interview. He toyed with the idea of retiring when the media rights were up. He hasn’t brought up retirement recently though, including in his recent ‘free agent’ contract talk. Last year, Chuck hinted that other broadcasters are keen on having the quartet on their networks. But if the show moves to another broadcast home, would Chuck consider it?

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“I wouldn’t go by myself…” Barkley said on the Sports Illustrated podcast in 2023. “And I would find it hard to go without Ernie.” He hinted a few more times that he’d put off retirement only if it’s the same four in a new show. However, no Ernie, no Inside.

Whether Chuck becomes a sportscasting ‘free agent’ will be known after the NBA contract negotiations conclude. Shaq and Kenny haven’t conveyed anything about their futures. It’s also very unlikely Ernie could walk away from his TNT obligations easily. So those of us who can’t enjoy basketball without the Inside Guys shenanigans have to keep our fingers crossed.