Will “Inside The NBA” live past next season? The answer to that question still needs to be clarified.
But Charles Barkley made another joke about his uncertain job status — and he did so on ABC in a booth with ESPN broadcasters.
Barkley was a guest analyst in the ESPN/ABC studio during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. When ESPN broadcaster Steve Levy asked about the NBA media rights negotiations, Barkley poked fun at his job hunt on LinkedIn.
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“Listen, I wish I had a job next year,” Barkley said. “I’m on LinkedIn. I put on my resume, they are like,, ‘You never had a real job’. I said that’s not my fault,” Barkley said.
Charles Barkley once again jokes about his uncertain future at TNT.
“Listen, I wish I had a job next year. I’m on LinkedIn. I put on my resume, they are like ‘You never had a real job’. I said that’s not my fault.”😂 pic.twitter.com/ld3PEDjZDQ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 11, 2024
While there’s still no word on the NBA signing its media rights deal, many reports have indicated that the league is looking at a combined $76 billion deal over 11 years with ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon. That would leave Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) , which carries TNT, on the outside looking in, unless it managed to carve out another package, or was able to exercise its matching rights.
At the top of the broadcast, Levy even introduced Barkley as a potential new member of ESPN’s NBA crew.
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“Welcome Mark Messier, P.K. Subban, and the newest member of ESPN’s NBA coverage?” Levy asked.
Steve Levy wasted no time trying to convince Charles Barkley to join ESPN’s NBA coverage during his guest appearance on ABC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup.
“Steve Levy, Mark Messier, P.K. Subban, and the newest member of ESPN’s NBA coverage?”👀pic.twitter.com/WhLPgNFReT
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 11, 2024
Barkley seemed to ignore the jab at this moment, instead joking around with Messier about being owed money.
More NBA media rights:
NBA Commissioner apologizes to TNT workers for job uncertaintyWarner Bros. Discovery is in trouble after Comcast offers NBA a massive dealCharles Barkley calls WBD execs ‘clowns’ amid NBA media rights negotiations
The NBA legend has not been shy about his job status, and has even taken jabs at the top execs of WBD about the way they’ve handled the negotiations with the NBA. While he hasn’t directly ruled out the possibility of moving to ESPN, he’s also said he would not let himself be overworked by The Worldwide Leader in Sports.
“Let me tell you something — they’re not going to work me like a dog,” Barkley said on “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” last month. “ESPN Radio, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes — I mean like, hell no. As much as I love ESPN, I just turned 61. The notion that I’m going to be working like a dog into my mid-60s, that’s definitely not going to happen.”
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