The battle for the NBA Broadcast rights is turning into a frenzy with TNT set to lose out altogether, for the first time in 35 years.
NBC is the latest big broadcaster looking to edge out TNT and Charles Barkley could become the most sought-after free agent analyst in history.
The star of Inside the NBA on TNT will follow the lights of course and that means big change for the big guy.
The NBA is outwardly hearing proposals from ESPN and NBC and Barkley has admitted to being nervous ahead of a potential reshuffle, but it is highly unlikely he will be out of a mainstream job for long.
Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith all inked long-term deals with TNT but the NBA flagship could be a deal breaker.
“I want to make it clear; I love TNT,” Barkley told Dan Patrick last week. “I love everybody at TNT, and they’ve been great for me. But I don’t want to be in limbo if we lose the NBA. That wouldn’t be fair to me.”
It won’t matter who gets the NBA rights for the big-name analysts as they will move with the flow and are already established stars.
