Charles Barkley is a uniquely colorful personality in the sports and pop culture landscape, thanks to his refusal to package himself or present any image that isn’t an honest representation of who he is, even though he’s been in the public eye for more than 30 years. That’s why we were glad to see him sign a contract extension keeping him on Inside the NBA, although we’re also concerned that extending his presence across multiple platforms (not all of them sports-related) will dilute his appeal. That’s also why we loved to hear the details of Barkley’s negotiations with Turner Sports from Sports Illustrated‘s Richard Deitsch because they’re very, very Chuck.
The negotiation took place between Barkley and several Turner executives at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Deitsch called it “a six-hour Italian feast featuring two magnums of 2009 Bond Estates St Eden Napa Valley Red, two bottles of 1942 Don Julio tequila and plates of pasta and meatballs,” and the booze alone cost $1,700. When asked about the bottles, Barkley said, “We killed them,” to which we say… nice.
In general, it seems like Turner president David Levy was desperate to keep Chuck around, throwing CNN appearances, live commentary gigs for basketball games and Olympics coverage for Bleacher Report (?) into his new deal, which will keep Barkley and the rest of the Inside crew around until Turner’s huge contract with the NBA expires in 2025. According to Deitsch, he also showed Barkley “a tribute video made up of production people and on-air staffers reflecting on how much they enjoyed working with him.”
It’s hard to argue with Levy’s drive, considering that Barkley is a crucial piece of the most popular studio show in the sporting world. The rest of the piece covers his reasons for staying (beyond the wine and tequila) and other members of the Inside crew’s takes on their contract extensions.
(Via Sports Illustrated)
