Charles Barkley has once again put a timeline on the end of his broadcasting career, but this time his decision is directly tied to longtime “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson.
Appearing on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Barkley said the 2026-27 NBA season is expected to be his final year on the show and revealed that Johnson has also been planning to step away after the season. Johnson has not independently announced his retirement, so for now the timeline comes from Barkley’s account.
“Me and Ernie are a package deal. So right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year 100 percent.”
Charles Barkley reveals him and Ernie Johnson are leaving Inside the NBA after this season
“Me and Ernie are a package deal. So right now, unless Ernie changes his mind, next year is my last year 100 percent.”
(Via @rBillSimmonsPod) pic.twitter.com/C9pWZSniPV
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) September 4, 2026
According to Barkley, Johnson was the primary reason he agreed to remain with “Inside the NBA” after TNT Sports lost its traditional NBA broadcast package. Barkley said Johnson approached him during the uncertainty surrounding the show’s future and asked him to stay for two more years once an arrangement was reached to keep the program alive through ESPN.
That arrangement became possible through the licensing agreement that moved “Inside the NBA” onto ESPN and ABC while keeping production with TNT Sports and preserving the familiar Atlanta-based crew. Johnson, Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal remained together through the transition.
Barkley said another major motivation was protecting the people working behind the scenes. He explained that continuing for two additional seasons allowed longtime staff members to remain employed during the transition rather than seeing the entire production disappear when TNT’s previous NBA era ended.
For Barkley, however, that commitment apparently has an expiration date.
He made clear that his willingness to continue is tied specifically to Johnson. If Johnson follows through with his reported plan to retire after this season, Barkley says he will leave as well. “If he says he’s done, I’m gone,” Barkley said, again describing the two as a “package deal.”
Barkley’s retirement declarations naturally come with some history. He has repeatedly discussed leaving television over the years and previously announced plans to retire before reversing course. That makes his latest statement less definitive than a formal retirement announcement would be. The important difference this time is that he has connected his decision to Johnson rather than simply setting his own deadline.
Johnson’s situation remains less clear publicly. The 70-year-old broadcaster has not personally announced that the upcoming season will be his last, making Barkley’s comments the strongest indication yet that one of the most recognizable hosts in American sports television may be approaching retirement.
If both men leave, it would represent a fundamental change for “Inside the NBA.”
Johnson has served as the steady center of the program for decades, while Barkley’s arrival in 2000 helped transform the show into something much larger than a traditional studio broadcast. Their chemistry, alongside Smith and later O’Neal, became one of the defining features of NBA television coverage.
