The NBA Finals Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks on NBA TV brought out a very left-field ending. TNT’s Charles Barkley, who was a guest on NBA TV for this game, very candidly came forward and spoke about his retirement. Having signed a 10-year, $100 million contract with TNT in 2022, Sir Charles might have to do more than just the Inside the NBA show. Like every year, he is expected to continue TNT’s March Madness coverage. Even though he has been hurt by how the entire situation has been handled by the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, it seems the network is not yet ready to let go of the NBA legend.

As per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the plans for Barkley are yet to be discussed. “We’re looking forward to another fantastic NBA on TNT season and further discussion of our future plans with (Barkley),” TNT Sports said in a statement. “Charles is a Hall of Famer and broadcasting icon who is and will always be a beloved member of the TNT Sports family,” said a TNT Sports spokesperson in another report to CNN. But it’s no surprise these statements are popping up.

Inside the NBA has been a staple of NBA coverage ever since its inception in 1989. However, it was the additions of Barkley to the crew in 2000 and Shaquille O’Neal in 2011 that catapulted the TNT show to greater heights. And everyone, including the NBA Commissioner, knows the iconic show’s influence.

“(To) the folks at Turner Sports, I apologize that this has been a prolonged process because I know they’re committed to their jobs,” Adam Silver had earlier said amid fan protests against TNT potentially losing the TV rights deal. However, the prolonged process seems to have no conclusion. With the door closing on the next media rights deal, it seems likely TNT might not be included in the deal.

ESPN. NBC and Amazon have reportedly won the bidding contest for different NBA packages, worth in the $76 billion range. However, as per the same The Athletic article, TNT will try to match one of these offers. Moreover, they are still hoping that the NBA might come back with a smaller fourth package of games. It would be a massive win for fans to get Barkley to turn back on his retirement announcement. But would Charles Barkley really leave everything if things don’t work out for TNT?

Is Charles Barkley’s retirement a ruse?

The deal for TNT is currently expected to end after the 2024-2025 season. And Charles Barkley is also thinking of doing the same. “I hope the NBA stays with TNT, but for me personally, I wanted you guys to hear it from me,” Barkley continued. “I wanted to tell my NBATV and TNT family that I’m not going to another network, but I’m going to pass the baton to either Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter or you, Steve (Smith),” Barkley had said following Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Previously, many times Charles Barkley had hinted at retirement, starting in the early 2010s. He told Sports Illustrated that he’d be an idiot to work till he was 60 and didn’t plan to renew his contract in 2016. However, Turner’s top execs treated him to a $1,700 bottle of tequila and delicious pasta, golf, and an in-home pitch to convince him to renew his contract with the other three in 2015 till 2022.

Then in 2022, Barkley and the rest of the crew signed multiyear, million-dollar contracts to stay with TNT. A few days ago, on the Dan Patrick show, Barkley hinted he might produce the show under his production banner. The news got a lot of fans pumped. It’ll be interesting to see how this thing develops over the coming weeks and months. But we sure do hope the Chuckster continues to stay on our TVs.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.