Shaquille O’Neal returning to TNT on $15M-plus deal, per report
Shaquille O’Neal is staying with TNT Sports on a new contract worth more than $15 million per year, Front Office Sports reported Friday.
The news means the cast of “Inside the NBA” is staying together even as TNT is set to license out the show to ESPN starting next season.
TNT was the odd network out in the NBA’s recent TV rights negotiations, as NBC and Amazon joined previous rightsholder ESPN in inking deals for basketball games.
That left TNT without a need for pregame and postgame NBA shows. TNT is licensing “Inside the NBA” to ESPN in exchange for a package of Big 12 college football and basketball games.
According to Front Office Sports, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith are staying on “Inside the NBA,” although Barkley had interest from NBC and Amazon.
“I’m informing NBC that I will not accept their offer,” Barkley said on the podcast he co-hosts with Ernie Johnson, the anchor of “Inside the NBA.” “I’m going to cancel future meetings with Amazon. … My heart is always and will be at Turner Sports.”
Barkley’s most recent contract extension, signed in 2022, pays him $21 million per year.
As for O’Neal, the Hall of Fame center best known for his time with Kobe Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers also heard from NBA and Amazon, according to a CNBC report.
NBC is in talks with Carmelo Anthony for a studio analyst position and Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford as color commentators, according to Front Office Sports.
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Shaquille O’Neal, TNT Agree to Extension Worth Over $15M/Year
O’Neal’s Inside the NBA show will be licensed from TNT to ESPN beginning next season. The new deal ensures his continued presence.
Shaquille O’Neal has an agreement in place for an enormous long-term deal with TNT Sports that will pay him over $15 million per year, Front Office Sports has learned.
The deal is good news for TNT as it licenses the Emmy Award–winning Inside the NBA to ESPN next season in exchange for a package of Big 12 college football/basketball games.
Whether O’Neal would return for the show’s first season on ESPN was one of the biggest questions hanging over the cast. The four-time NBA champion joined Inside the NBA in 2011 after a 19-year playing career. With his portfolio of endorsements, the 52-year-old is believed to have a net worth around $500 million.
The show’s megastar, Charles Barkley, makes $21 million per year via a 10-year $210 million contract extension signed in 2022. Barkley is also sticking with TNT despite offers from NBC, Amazon and ESPN.
“I’m informing NBC that I will not accept their offer,” Barkley told Ernie Johnson Jr. on their Steam Room podcast. “I’m gonna cancel future meetings with Amazon. … My heart is always and will be at Turner Sports.”
Barkley expressed optimism he could make it work on Inside the NBA. “I’m hoping this thing comes together and I can stay with TNT and ESPN,” he said.
Kenny “The Jet” Smith is also expected to sign a new multi-year deal to remain with TNT, say sources. Johnson, the glue that holds the show together, is viewed as a TNT lifer. Since Inside the NBA will continue to be produced in the same Atlanta studio, he’s expected to remain with the show as well.
Besides Barkley, O’Neal and Smith also had conversations with the NBA’s incoming rights partners NBC and Amazon, according to CNBC Sport.
O’Neal’s pending mega-deal will remove a very large piece from the proverbial chessboard as NBC and Amazon race to sign hoops talent for the fall.
NBC is expected to announce the hiring of Carmelo Anthony as a studio analyst in the coming days. The Comcast company is also poised to hire Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford as its top color commentators alongside play-by-play announcers Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle. Maria Taylor, host of Sunday Night Football, is also likely to host the network’s NBA studio coverage.
Meanwhile, Amazon has hired host Taylor Rooks and analysts Dirk Nowitzki and Blake Griffin for its studio coverage. FOS previously reported that when he retires, Warrior star Draymond Green will explore his media options. Amazon Prime’s play-by-play broadcasters will include Ian Eagle and Kevin Harlan.
Tom Brady at Fox Sports is No. 1 at $37.5 million per year. Barkley is No. 2 at $21 million a year, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is expected to score a five-year, $100 million deal that would put him at $20 million a year. ESPN’s Troy Aikman ($18 million), CBS analyst Tony Romo ($18 million) ESPN’s Pat McAfee ($17 million), and ESPN’s Joe Buck ($15) million also earn major annual salaries. Peyton Manning is also on the list of highest-earning sports media personalities. But it’s difficult to separate his individual salary from Omaha Productions, which has a long-term agreement with ESPN through 2034. Omaha Productions raised capital at a valuation of $400 million in 2023.
Starting with the 2025-2026 season, Disney’s ABC and ESPN, NBCUniversal’s NBC and Peacock, and Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service are combining to pay $77 billion over 11 years for NBA rights.
Ryan Glasspiegel contributed to this story.
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Shaq signs massive deal to keep ‘Inside the NBA’ together
Shaquille O’Neal has proven to be nearly as popular a broadcaster as he was a player, and it’s paying off.
The Hall of Fame center has agreed to a new long-term contract to remain at TNT Sports, and he’ll earn more than $15 million per year, according to Front Office Sports.
The news comes as “Inside The NBA” heads to ESPN due to TNT no longer having the media rights to broadcast the NBA.
But TNT will license the program to ESPN, as well as ABC, starting next season.
There had still been uncertainty about whether the four members of the program — Ernie Johnson and former NBA players Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and O’Neal — would continue to be a part of it.
But Barkley said he would stay with TNT for the rest of his 10-year contract, which has seven years remaining, and Johnson and Smith both are expected to stay.
The O’Neal news comes just a day after he joked that the crew was “getting fired anyway” following an appearance by former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch, who used profanity on the show.
O’Neal, 52, reportedly made nearly $300 million over his 17-year NBA career, as well as plenty more from endorsements extending after his playing days.
He now figures to be among the highest-paid broadcasters in the industry more than a decade after embarking on a career in it.
As for “Inside The NBA,” it will still be produced by TNT going forward, from the same studio in Atlanta.
The exact format of the show is yet to be determined, according to multiple outlets, and the show itself may be on a handful fewer times per season.
What do you think? Post a comment.
Now that it’s affiliated with ESPN, the members of the show could be seen more than ever if the network asks that they make appearances on different programs.
