Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than $15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported Friday.
The news means the cast of “Inside the NBA” is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season.
TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games.
That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. In a trade with ESPN, TNT is licensing “Inside the NBA” to the Worldwide Leader in exchange for a package of Big 12 college football and basketball games.
Per Front Office Sports, Charles Barkley and Kenny “The Jet” Smith are staying on “Inside the NBA” although Barkley had interest from NBC and Amazon.
“I’m informing NBC that I will not accept their offer,” Barkley said on the podcast he co-hosts with Ernie Johnson, the anchor of “Inside the NBA.” “I’m gonna cancel future meetings with Amazon … My heart is always and will be at Turner Sports.”
Barkley’s most recent contract extension, signed in 2022, pays him $21 million per year.
As for O’Neal, the Hall of Fame center best known for his time with Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, he also heard from NBA and Amazon, according to a CNBC report.
NBC is in talks with Carmelo Anthony for a studio analyst position and Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford as color commentators, per Front Office Sports.
–Field Level Media
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