Charles Barkley Eyes Retired at the end of current TNT contract

NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was considering retiring from his broadcasting duties when TNT contract expires after two years.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the upcoming Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, Inside the NBA The co-host said, “I don’t want to die on TV. I want to die on the golf course or somewhere fishing. I don’t want to sit inside [by] Fat Shaq [waiting] to die. ”

Barkley has been a sports analyst for TNT since 2000, appearing on the network’s NBA coverage on pre-game and halftime shows. He is currently acting with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smithand Shaquille O’Neal on the chat show after the game Inside the NBA.

As first reported by Dallas Morning NewsBarkley, 59, told reporters that his current contract has two years left, and once that expires, “it could happen to me.”

“It was a wonderful, wonderful thing. I love Ernie, Kenny, Shaq and everyone we work with,” he said. “But I just don’t feel the need to work until the day I die. I don’t, man. I will be 61 if my contract expires. ”

This is not the first time the former Houston Rockets player has talked about his retirement. He previously considered leaving his broadcast career and becoming the former NBA general manager Inside was renewed in 2015. He say he decided to stick with the show because TNT “wanted to keep the band together”.

At the same time, Barkley hinted that he will finish the job in 2020, regardless of his contract. As of 2022, however, he’s still with the show and seems to plan to stay there for at least another two years.

“He will never give up,” colleague Inside analyst O’Neal told Marchand and Ourand podcast in November. “Charles will be here forever. We need him, and he needs us. I believe that if I retire and do nothing, I will falter. This is what we do and what we live. That’s what we’ve been doing, and we need each other. We continue for each other. ”

Inside the NBATuesday, TNT