Charles Barkley suggests he’s reconsidering his decision to retire

May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Former NBA player and current TNT TV personality Charles Barkley prior to Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Charles Barkley said during the NBA Finals that he would retire from television after the 2024-25 season if TNT lost the NBA broadcast rights. That has happened, but Barkley is suddenly leaving the door open to work elsewhere.

Barkley told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand that he will retire if Turner guarantees his entire 10-year, $210 million contract. If they don’t, he said he’s willing to consider offers from ESPN, NBC and Amazon Prime Video.

“My deal is 10 years, $210 million,” Barkley said. “Turner has to come to me as soon as possible and they have to guarantee my entire deal or they can offer me a pay cut, which is not in the cards and I become a free agent.

“I thought, ‘Wait a minute, you guys messed up, I didn’t mess up, so why should I take a pay cut?’”

Barkley is only in the third year of that deal, so he’s essentially asking Turner to keep paying him $21 million a year for more than half a decade, even though they don’t have the NBA rights. Turner doesn’t seem to be interested in that, which raises the possibility that Barkley will become a free agent for the network. He did make it clear that he still sees retirement in his future for the time being, but that he’d be “dumb” not to at least listen to what other networks might offer.

“Right now I’m planning on retiring,” Barkley said. “I’m not trying to do anything.”

Barkley added that he’s still reluctant to broadcast elsewhere without the rest of the “Inside the NBA” crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, as well as the behind-the-scenes crew. Marchand noted in his article that a scenario has been floated in which another network could allow the entire crew to continue doing the show from Atlanta, albeit on a different network.

Earlier on Friday, Barkley criticized the NBA and its owners for alleged greed in the new TV deal. Despite that, he may not be done with the league yet.