Shaquille O'Neal assured a lucrative agreement to remain within the last NBA this season.
With TNT ready to transfer the program to ESPN next year, questions arose about whether the four -time NBA champion will remain with the program.
According to Michael McCarthy, of sports of the main office, O'Neal agreed to a long -term agreement with TNT Sports that would pay $ 15 million annually.
“Shaquille O'Neal has an agreement for a huge long -term agreement with TNT sports that will pay more than $ 15 million per year,” McCarthy said on Friday.
O'Neal joined the NBA in 2011 and has been a key player in the rise of the program to prominence.
He associated with his natural chemistry with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, O'Neal's personality, blunt analysis and basketball intellect have been their key contributions to the program.
Shaquille O'Neal has agreed
The agreement places the center of the Hall of Fame among the figures of the best paid sports media.
The TNT movement is produced as a broader silencing agreement, since the network agreed to exchange program rights for a Big 12 soccer and university basketball package.
O'Neal's decision to stay with Turner came despite receiving NBA and Amazon offers.
His remaining with TNT also aligns with previous statements about wanting to stay with the interior of the NBA as long as possible. Speaking in the Podcast OGS in 2024, O'Neal expressed his appreciation for his colleagues and the legacy of the program.
“In a perfect world, I would love to stay together forever, but it is in the hands of the powers at this time,” O'Neal said. 'But this last year it will be a phenomenal year, you know that Chuck will go crazy, I'm going crazy.
“It's going to be fun,” he continued. “With luck, this is not the last year.”
The show has won 19 Emmy Awards from 2024 and was included in the Transmission and Cable Hall of Fame in 2016.