Jason Whitlock Sheds Light on Possible Reason Behind Charles Barkley’s Retirement Decision

Charles Barkley surprised the baseball community when he announced his decision to retire from broadcasting. The former NBA MVP made the announcement on NBA TV after the Dallas Mavericks’ 122-84 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday.

In his address, Charles Barkley, who is one of the highest-paid announcers in sports, revealed that the 2024-25 season will be his swansong. The 4-time Sports Emmy Award winner affirmed that he will call it quits as a broadcaster after spending 25 years in the field.

Veteran analyst Jason Whitlock reacted to Barkley’s surprising retirement decision and shed light on what could have possibly persuaded the Hall of Famer to walk away from broadcasting.

Whitlock switched focus to the changing times in the broadcasting industry while also launching a scathing attack on the current state of corporate TV.

“I believe Barkley is stepping away because he’s come to grips with what corporate TV is. It’s dishonest and he no longer wants to do it. Good for him,” Whitlock wrote on X.

Barkley is one of the faces on TNT’s award-winning show “Inside the NBA” alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and host Ernie Johnson Jr.

The 61-year-old began his career as an analyst with TNT in 2000, soon after retiring from the NBA. During his retirement announcement, Barkley also ruled out any possibility of working with other networks apart from TNT.

“There’s been a lot of noise around our network the last few months. I just want to say, I talked to all the other networks, but I ain’t going nowhere other than TNT. But I have made the decision myself, no matter what happens, next year is going to be my last year on television,” Barkley said.

Charles Barkley unhappy with Warner Bros. executives

Charles Barkley’s decision to retire came at a time when numerous reports were claiming that TNT could lose its NBA coverage rights. Numerous reports have claimed that the NBA is inching closer to inking a deal with NBC, Disney and Amazon for its media coverage rights.

The Hall of Famer has publicly criticized Warner Bros. amidst reports of the company losing the media rights. Barkley went as far as calling the company executives “clowns.”
Barkley is ready to pass the baton as a broadcaster but the NBA legend hopes that TNT finds a way to hold on to the NBA media rights.

“I just want to say thank you to my NBA family. You guys have been great to me, my heart is full with joy and gratitude, but I’m going to pass the baton at the end of next year. I hope the NBA stays with TNT,” Barkley added.

When it comes to Charles Barkley’s contract with TNT, the Hall of Famer reportedly inked a whopping $100 million deal for 10 years around two years ago.