TNT, Charles Barkley Marriage Will ‘Probably’ End in 2 Years

The Charles Barkley on TNT era is coming to an end.

Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Charles Barkley was asked about how long he intends to keep working for TNT.  Via  the Dallas Morning News, Barkley’s planning on calling it quits when his contract runs out.

“And that’s probably going to be it for me,” Barkley said.

Per Townsend, Barkley said that his contract runs out in two years, which would be at the end of the 2023-24 season.

According to Turner Sports, the deal Barkley and his TNT set mates Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal signed in 2015 actually runs through 2024-25.

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At the end of the call, Barkley was asked how much longer he'll continue to be a broadcaster. Barkley, 59, says he has 2 years left on his contract "and that's probably going to be it for me." ….

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) February 15, 2022

Either way, Barkley, who turns 59 on Sunday, said he’ll be ready to be done.

“It’s been a great, great thing,” Barkley continued. “I love Ernie, Kenny, Shaq and everybody we work with. But I just don’t feel the need to work until the day I die. I don’t, man. I’ll be 61 years old if I finish out my contract.

“And I don’t want to die on TV. I want to die on the golf course or somewhere fishing. I don’t want to be sitting inside over [by] fat-ass Shaq [waiting] to drop dead.”

Shaq is not buying into Barkley’s retirement chatter:

“He’s never gonna quit,” O’Neal told the “Marchand and Ourand” podcast in November. “Charles is gonna be here forever. We need him, and he needs us. I’m convinced that if I’m retired and I don’t do nothing, I will falter away. This is what we do and what we live for. It’s what we’ve been doing, and we need each other.

“We keep each other going. Look, I’ve been here 11 years. I’ve heard that spiel before, but he’s gonna be here till the wheels fall off.”

Television will be a lot less entertaining when Chuck is off the airwaves.

Let’s appreciate the NBA Hall  of Famer while we still have him.

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