After an NBA showdown, it’s become a staple to watch Charles Barkley discuss all that went down with his co-hosts on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.” With over 20 years under his belt with the popular sports studio show, the Hall of Famer and NBA analyst may be heading to cover a different sport.
Possibility Of A New Broadcaster Role
New York Post reports that Barkley has been in talks with LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman to join the tour as a broadcaster. He shared with the outlet that if he were to accept an offer, it would need to surpass his current earnings over at TNT.
“Between the number you just mentioned [$10 million per year] and all my commercials, for me to risk all of that, it would have to be some serious money thrown my way,” he told the outlet.
He added: “In a perfect scenario, I would love to do both,” Barkley told The Post. “I don’t know how Turner’s sponsors are going to feel about it. I know there is going to be some blowback.”
Charles Barkley Confirms Nothing Is Set In Stone
While Barkley is possibly considering an offer, any form of agreement is far from official and he wants his endorsement deals to be sure of that.
“They checked in with me,” Barkley said. “What I told Subway, Capital One and Dick’s Sporting Goods, I said, ‘Wait a minute. I haven’t signed anything. I haven’t met with the guy. Let’s let this thing play out before you all call me all upset.’
Controversy Around LIV Golf
The “blowback” aforementioned by Barkley during his interview is in regard to the tour being financially backed by the Saudi Arabian government.
There’s reportedly controversy because the Saudi-led group “has been accused of killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as other human rights violations,” the outlet points out.
From Barkley’s perspective, he believes that any outrage from the NBA is “selective” and hypocritical.
“I told [Norman],” he said. “’Listen, they are making up words, like ‘blood money’ and ‘sports washing.’ I said, ‘We have all taken ‘blood money’ and we all have ‘sports washed’ something so I don’t like those words, to be honest with you.’”
He continued: “If you are in pro sports, you are taking some type of money from not a great cause.”
Further details are awaiting to be confirmed, but it’s been reported that if Barkley were to sign with LIV Golf, it could bring it closer to securing a major television rights deal.