ESPN reportedly eyeing Charles Barkley and ‘entire’ Inside the NBA cast following media rights deal

The NBA will be ending its 40-year relationship with TNT and moving their rights to Amazon Prime Video after the conclusion of the 2024–2025 NBA season. It's an 11-year partnership that will allow ABC, ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Prime Video to telecast NBA games, beginning with the 2025-26 season and running through the 2035-36 season.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement, via NBA.com:

“Our new global media agreements with Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon will maximize the reach and accessibility of NBA games for fans in the United States and around the world. These partners will distribute our content across a wide range of platforms and help transform the fan experience over the next decade.”

ESPN eyeing Charles Barkley and the entire Inside the NBA crew

With so much uncertainty for the future of NBA broadcasts (other than Mike Tirico), the real question is, what does the future hold for the Inside The NBA crew on TNT. As one of the most respected live sports televised shows, Inside The NBA holds a special place in every basketball fan's heart. Whether it was goofy moments with Shaquille O'Neal, bickering between O'Neal and Barkley, Kenny "The Jet" Smith picking on "Chuck," or Ernie Johnson attempting his darnest to keep the guys in order.

Barkley has made it abundantly clear that he intends to retire from broadcasting after the 2024-25 season, and that he won't work for anyone other than TNT. While his future on tv hangs into balance, like any other industry -- money talks.

According to Michael McCarthy from Front Office Sports, ESPN is eyeing Barkley and the rest of the TNT crew.:

“The Chuckster could command $20 million-plus offers from the NBA’s new trio of rights partners: newcomer Prime; incumbent ABC/ESPN; and former broadcast partner NBC, which held the rights during the Michael Jordan golden era from 1990 to 2002. ESPN is already eying Barkley and the entire cast of Inside the NBA, say my sources. Ditto for Prime."

At the end of next season, Barkley will be 62, and will likely become the hottest free agent in all of sports television. It's hard to imagine the TNT crew moving forward without Barkley. If anyone has enough to convince them all it's in their best interest to continue what they've built, it is ESPN. After the new deal was announced, McCarthy spoke with Jay Marine (Global Head of Sports for Prime Video) about his thoughts on the TNT crew, also via Front Office Sports:

“Inside the NBA, in our opinion, is the gold standard for studio programming. I’m a huge fan. We’re all big fans. It is so entertaining. Those guys are hilarious. The chemistry is off the charts. In fact, it's what we really held up as the standard and our inspiration when we were designing our TNF pregame show. We’ll have to see how all this plays out. We just signed the deal. They’ll have no shortage of options depending on what they want to do."

ESPN has already finished its issues with the Monday Night Football broadcasts. It shouldn't shock anyone that they're looking to do the same on the NBA side of things. The Inside The NBA crew is a staple when it comes to sports television, and if they can convince Barkley that the two sides could come together and create some more magic, then we could see a new home for Barkley and the crew.