Shaq compared to Olympic sensation Snoop Dogg by NBA agent ahead of TNT Sports star’s looming TV free agency

SHAQUILLE O’Neal will be highly sought out in his upcoming TV free agency with his status getting comparisons to Snoop Dogg.

While the NBA legend, 52, is currently a star on TNT’s Inside the NBA , the show has a murky future if the network officially loses its NBA rights.

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TNT’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has sued the NBA, saying that the league broke its “matching rights” in picking Amazon ‘s bidding offer instead of theirs.

The NBA has said that WNBA didn’t match the terms of Amazon’s streaming-first package on their Prime Video platform and the situation is in the process of court of law .

TNT will likely lose its rights with the NBA after a settlement or a ruling in the league’s favor.

That will mean there will be numerous networks attempting to sign analysts Charles Barkley, who recently signed a long-term agreement with TNT but also has an opt-out in his deal with the network if it does not renew its NBA rights, and Shaq.

The former four-time NBA champion O’Neal has had a successful career in the business world.

The New York Post spoke to NBA agent Nate Jones, who believes that O’Neal and Barkley have paths to be stars in the media world similar to Snoop, who was a correspondent for NBC at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Shaq is one of the few monoculture sports superstars left in the business today. Shaq and Charles [Barkley] are similar to Snoop Dogg where everyone from grandmas to young kids know who they are and love them,” Jones said to The Post.

“It’s very hard for sports stars of this fractured social media era to break through like those guys have, so they have real value to sports broadcasters and their brand partners.

“Shaq is nearly a decade younger than Charles, so he likely has a little more runway as a sports personality than Charles at this stage.”

Amazon and NBC will be looking for analysts in the studio when their TV deals begin for the 2025-26 season.

The NY Post wrote that ESPN “should also consider bringing in O’Neal” to be part of NBA Countdown .

ESPN has had a past of poaching talent from other companies.

The network spent millions to sign Joe Buck and Troy Aikman away from Fox Sports to call games on Monday Night Football .

Earlier this month, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that TNT is considering a scenario of the Inside the NBA show being a general sports show if the network loses its NBA rights.

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Barkley and Shaq won’t be the only TNT stars who could be on their way to roles at other networks.

NBA star Draymond Green , who’s a player for the Golden State Warriors , and WNBA legend Candace Parker could be in the mix for other media outlets.

Retired NBA player Jamal Crawford, who appeared on TNT’s Tuesday coverage last season, revealed that he is a current media free agent.

And Kenny “The Jet” Smith could be up for a new studio role in 2025.

Inside the NBA is set to return in October when the 2024-25 NBA season arrives.