The Big Lead

Charles Barkley sweepstakes heat up with ESPN, NBC expressing interest

By Joe Lago

Jun 4, 2023; Denver, CO, USA; TNT sports analyst Charles Barkley speaks before game two between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Jun 4, 2023; Denver, CO, USA; TNT sports analyst Charles Barkley speaks before game two between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The biggest potential NBA free agent isn't an All-Star player. It is All-Star broadcaster, Charles Barkley, the league's best and most popular analyst for his frank and entertaining commentary on TNT's "Inside the NBA," the gold standard for sports studio shows.

Barkley is in the third year of a 10-year, $210 million deal with TNT, and he's already stated he would hit the open market if his current employer doesn't honor his full contract. TNT — which was excluded in the NBA's new broadcast rights deals with ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime — is suing the league to stay in the mix, and Barkley has an out clause if TNT loses NBA games.

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In July, Barkley revealed he had been talking to ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime. On Tuesday, two of the networks went public with their interest in the four-time Emmy Award winner.

ESPN president of content Burke Magnus and NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazarus both acknowledged that they would love to add Barkley to their basketball coverage while speaking at Front Office Sports' "Tuned In" summit in New York City.

“I would be lying if we said we weren’t interested in Charles,” Magnus said. “I think the entire industry is interested in Charles. He’s really that special. We’ll see.”

“If Charles were available, we’d certainly love to have that conversation with him,” Lazarus said. “We’ve known him for a long time. We’ve known him from the time that we were there (with NBA rights) in 2000 or so. So we think that Charles adds a great element to everything he does.

"He’s been a guest on our shows. If he were to be available, certainly we’d be talking to him. Unless Burke Magnus talks to him first.”

Barkley would inject some life into ESPN's staid NBA pregame and postgame shows. Stephen A. Smith, who's seeking a bigger ESPN role with his next contract, told Front Office Sports that it would be a "dream come true” to work with Barkley.

For NBC, Barkley is the type of home-run hire that would loudly announce the network's return to the NBA. NBC lost its rights to ESPN after the 2001-02 season.