Charles Barkley Announces NBA Sabbatical Amid ESPN Tensions

Barkley to step away from Inside the NBA during March Madness due to scheduling conflicts with expanded NBA coverage.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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Charles Barkley has announced he will take a sabbatical during March Madness as tensions around scheduling at ESPN grow. With the new NBA broadcasting deal beginning for the 2025–26 season, Barkley expressed frustration about a condensed and backloaded schedule for Inside the NBA, which conflicts with his desire to manage workload balance and March Madness coverage roles on other networks.

Why it matters

Barkley's decision to take a temporary break from Inside the NBA highlights the challenges of balancing multiple broadcasting commitments, especially as the NBA's new media rights deal reshuffles the schedule. This move could impact the show's dynamic and foreshadows potential changes to accommodate Barkley's preferences.

The details

Barkley shared his concerns about the uneven workload on The Dan Le Batard Show, noting the long breaks over December and January and the backloaded schedule that will have him working three days in a row starting next week. He stressed the difficulty of adjusting to a heavier concentration of work over a short period, prompting him to take a sabbatical during March Madness.

  • Before the 2025–26 NBA season, Barkley shared his concerns about the uneven workload.
  • Barkley will take a sabbatical during March Madness, which begins on March 16 and runs through early April.
  • The 2025–26 season currently schedules five Inside the NBA shows in March, all concluding by March 14.

The players

Charles Barkley

A former NBA player and current basketball analyst who has been a key figure at TNT since 2000, helping develop Inside the NBA into a critically acclaimed program.

Dick Vitale

A renowned sportscaster who Barkley plans to team up with for March Madness broadcasts on CBS Sports and TNT.

ESPN

The network that airs Inside the NBA and has a new NBA broadcasting deal beginning in the 2025–26 season.

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What they’re saying

“We've only been on ESPN, I think, four times in three months.”

— Charles Barkley (The Dan Le Batard Show)

“We were off all of December to Christmas, and we're off all of January until the 24th. I don't like that at all.”

— Charles Barkley (The Dan Le Batard Show)

“I think they wanted to back-end load the schedule. We're going to be working a lot starting next week. We worked three days last week. I've been working one day a week for the last 25 years, or anything more than one day is tough.”

— Charles Barkley (The Next Round podcast)

“It's heavily backloaded. I think next week we work three days in a row, then another three days in a row, and then I take a sabbatical for March Madness. But I wish they had spread it out more, to be honest with you.”

— Charles Barkley (The Next Round podcast)

“I told these guys one of my goals is to do a game with Dick Vitale. I'd love to do it because he's been great for college basketball. It'd be good for the game.”

— Charles Barkley (The Next Round podcast)

What’s next

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The takeaway

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