Charles Barkley is one of the most iconic voices in the microcosm NBA, who has been entertaining fans for years on Inside The NBA. But in recent weeks, he received a mind-blowing offer from another league, which could have changed his life.
Charles Barkley is an NBA legend, a Hall of Famer, a member of the infamous 1992 Dream Team, a former MVP who single-handedly carried his team to the Finals… Nowadays, and with such accolades , he would undoubtedly be one of the highest paid players in the entire league, with a contract well over $200 million, like Rudy Gobert for example.
The concern is that at the time when he blithely dominated on the sporting level, the salary grid was not the same as today. Indeed, at the top of his game with the Suns, Chuck never received more than 5 million dollars in a season, a sum today intended for bench players… And even when he decided to engage with the Rockets for financial reasons, he did not receive more than 9 million!
Charles Barkley has refused a colossal offer from Saudi Arabia!
In fact, and it’s a rather surprising figure when you know the talent of the character, Charles Barkley received “only” 40 million dollars during his career, a year’s salary for the best current players… Because that he is not as well off as other legends, the 1993 MVP hesitated for a long time in recent weeks when he received an offer, undoubtedly colossal, from a controversial organization. He spoke about it:
I would like to thank Greg Norman and the leaders of LIV, the golf league, for their interest in me. I wish them the best, but the best decision for me is to stay with TNT and Inside The NBA. It is thanks to this channel and this sport that I have the life I have today. It’s the right thing for me to stay on TNT.
LIV is the new golf league that is turning the sports world upside down, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Indeed, it is financed by Saudi Arabia, which is not necessarily seen with a good eye across the Atlantic… But when we know that 700 million dollars were offered to Tiger Woods to participate, we imagine that Charles Barkley’s contract to commentate this circuit would have greatly exceeded 9 figures. Shaquille O’Neal, Chuck’s colleague on TNT, commented on this:
Charles is a very close friend of mine. I would have supported him even if he had decided to engage with LIV. Charles is one of the legends, like Bill Russell, who hasn’t had the chance to make a lot of money on the pitch. When such a lucrative opportunity arises and it is legal, albeit controversial, it obviously needs to be looked into.
Charles Barkley is a big golf fan, so he could have blown his bank account while talking about his other passion… But no doubt well aware of all the controversies surrounding LIV, he preferred to stay in the comfort of Inside The NBA.