Charles Barkley has not been shy of his wishes to not stay in the television industry too long. Although he’s a heck of a lot younger than many other analysts and broadcasters working today (51), it’s hard to believe he’s been doing this for almost 15 years.
As far back as 2012, Barkley has made comments that his current Turner contract that runs for a couple of seasons might be his last one in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“When I got to my fifth year of broadcasting I was like ‘OK, I’ll do this a couple of more years.’ But now I’m like, ‘Dude, you have been doing this for 13 years and if I make it to the end of the contract it will be 17 years.’ Seventeen years is a long time. It’s a lifetime in broadcasting. I personally have to figure out the next challenge for me.”
This week, Barkley again hinted that he might be departing television sooner rather than later in these comments from The Sporting News:
“I love my job, I love the people I work with,” Barkley said. “My big decision is, I’ve got two years left on my deal. That’ll be 17 years. That’s a long time to do a job. I would rather leave too early than stay too long. And 17 years is a long time. I told Ernie when I took the job, I was only going to be here four years. Now 15 years later, I’m still here. I’m leaning heavily toward it, toward finishing my two years and leaving on a good note.”
With the NBA on TNT media blitz in full swing at the start of the 2014 season, Barkley echoed those sentiments of leaving once his contract expires to SI’s Richard Deitsch. He also said he would never work for another network besides Turner. Sorry, ESPN.
As for Barkley’s future plans, he has stated that he’d love to be a GM for an NBA team.
The TV industry would not be the same without Charles Barkley, but you have to admire his honesty as always. It’s not too often you see someone at the top of their profession express a desire to not hang around too long and try something new. It’s even rarer in the world of sports broadcasting.
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