Charles Barkley being poached by two of TNT’s biggest competitors

While he draws plenty of criticism, Charles Barkley always finds a way to generate headlines. Sometimes, it’s due to a hot take, and in other moments, it’s his comical antics, even if that means heading to the golf course.

Barkley stays relevant mostly thanks to his analysis on TNT’s Inside the NBA segments, where he’s become one of the most popular basketball analysts ever. But there has been plenty of speculation that Barkley’s time at TNT could come to an end. While TNT recently re-secured its NBA broadcasting rights, that doesn’t mean other networks aren’t actively trying to recruit Barkley.

Related: NBA MVP race 2024-25: Will the NBA have a new MVP winner?

ESPN and TNT want to add Charles Barkley’s ‘special talent’ to team

Charles Barkley is one of the biggest keys to NBA TNT’s success. He’s never afraid to open his mouth, whether it’s for some pointed criticism or to highlight something he’s seeing on the court. Barkley also has a way of generating some laughter, whether it’s on-set or among the millions of basketball fans tuning in on their TV sets.

Barkley has no intention of leaving TNT, but his natural talent has sparked interest from other major networks, including ESPN. Recently, new ESPN president Burke Magnus openly admitted and discussed his interest in hiring Barkley away from TNT.

Magnus noted that “in a perfect world,” he’d hire Barkley, who he referred to as a “ singular talent .”

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

ESPN president Burke Magnus on hiring Charles Barkley

NBC’s chairman Mark Lazarus echoed the ESPN president’s tune, showing interest in Barkley too.

“If Charles were available, we’d certainly love to have that conversation with him. We’ve known him for a long time. We’ve known him from the time that we were there 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.”

NBC chairman Mark Lazarus on Barkley interest

Barkley previously noted that leaving TNT would require another network to pay him a “minimum” of $100 million. It’s not known how much ESPN would be willing to pay, but at least now they know the starting price for the ‘special’ talent that Barkley is.

Related: Top-selling NBA jerseys: Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum lead list of NBA’s best-selling jerseys, where’s LeBron James?

More must-reads:

• NBA insider reveals next big trade candidate to watch
• New Lakers rumor suggests JJ Redick plotting massively expanded role for Austin Reaves in 2024-25
• Warriors insider reveals internal reason why a Brandon Ingram trade is not happening before training camp