It doesn’t seem like Chuck has been on TNT for 13 years, but that is how long it has been.
Barkley is the main reason that Inside the NBA is by far the best pre and post game show in all of sports (NFL Network Sunday Pregame show is excellent as well), even though I think they would be able to survive without him.
Barkley according to No Guts, No Glory explains why he is ready for a new challenge.
“I love my job,” Barkley said. “I love the people I work with. And I’m going to try to do things to keep me engaged. But I have four years left on my current deal and to be honest with you, it’s going to be a struggle for me to make it for the whole four years. I really don’t know how much longer I’m going to do this. I need something more, or something else to do to be honest with you.”
There has been talk of Barkley doing color commentary for NBA games on TNT. He did it once last year and said he enjoyed it a lot. I don’t see TNT letting him just walk away and with Barkley always in need of gambling money, I expect the checks to keep him in his seat for a while.
Quotes are from Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated.