Why did Charles Barkley turn down LIV Golf? Real reason explored

In 2022, LIV Golf tried as hard as they could to woo Charles Barkley into joining its broadcast team, but the former NBA star-turned-broadcaster ended all his negotiations with the Saudi-backed league.

TNT signed a new deal with Barkley for 10 years ranging somewhere between $100 and $200 million

LIV Golf wanted Charles Barkley, and Barkley himself had announced that he would leave "Inside the NBA" after turning 60.

"In a perfect scenario, I would love to do both TNT and LIV, I don't know how Turner's sponsors are going to feel about it. I know there is going to be some blowback," Barkley had said in his interview with the New york Post.

Barkley didn't agree that it was the blood money involved in the Saudi-backed league. In his opinion, everyone has taken blood money in one form or another.

Charles, however, later rejected LIV's offer. TNT rewarded him with a fresh contract of somewhere between $100 million and $200 million. His current contract of $10 million stays till 2024-25.

As his current contract was ending soon and there were no talks between Turner and Barkley, he decided to explore his other options like LIV Golf. However, the massive deal offered by TNT ended all possibilities.

"We’re all a big family — Ernie, Kenny and Shaquille are brothers to me — and I wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for them and all the amazing people who work on our show. I’m not gonna lie, though, this is a life-altering deal, and I’m blessed to be able to do live television for a living,” Barkley was quoted by the New York Post.

Barkley had told Golfweek that he didn't receive any offers from LIV Golf. He also said that his number one priority was Turner as they had given him "everything."

Michael Jordan receives LIV's offer

It is being reported that LIV Golf are trying to hire Michael Jordan after their negotiations with Barkley have failed. The Saudi-backed league is trying to add star power but has not been successful so far.

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Charles Barkley's career highlights

Barkley played 16 seasons in his NBA career

Charles Barkley is a former NBA star who now does broadcasting for TNT. Born in 1963, Barkley played 16 seasons for the NBA. In the 16 years of NBA career, he played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and the Houston Rockets. He was on the Olympic gold-winning US team twice (1992,1996).

Barkley retired in 2000. Since then, he has been with TNT Sports as an NBA analyst where he, along with Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Shaquille O'Neal, features on the show Inside the NBA as pundits.

The former NBA star has received four Sports Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Studio Analyst".

Barkley was also featured in the third edition of Capital One's exhibition, The Match: Champions for Change. He partnered with Phil Mickelson, where the duo beat Peyton Manning-Stephen Curry by 4–3.

Barkley was recently seen during the broadcast of Capital One's The Match.