Charles Barkley, television’s most beloved savage, is revealing this week when he plans to hang up his microphone for good.
On a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Barkley was asked how much longer he will continue to be a broadcaster. Barkley replied that he has two years left on his contract with TNT and will “probably” retire after it ends.
“It’s been a great, great thing,” he said, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “I love Ernie [Johnson], Kenny [Smith], Shaq[uille O’Neal], 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,” Barkley added. “I want to die on the golf course or somewhere fishing. I don’t want to be sitting inside over [by] fat a– Shaq [waiting] to drop dead.”
Barkley, who has served as an analyst for TNT since 2000, will be turning 59 this month. Calling it quits when his contract expires after two more years would put Barkley’s retirement at the end of the 2023-24 NBA season.
A few months ago, Barkley made some other interesting comments about the possibility of retiring. With his TNT deal set to end in two more years, it sounds like that could be Barkley’s cue to finally kiss the airwaves goodbye.
Photo: May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Former NBA player and current TNT television personality Charles Barkley prior to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
