Charles Barkley says he's still waiting on an offer from LIV Golf to potentially join as a broadcaster
- Charles Barkley says he's still waiting for an offer from LIV Golf.
- Barkley briefly spoke with reporters while playing in the pro-am ahead of LIV Golf's event at Trump National Bedminster.
BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY — Charles Barkley says he's still waiting for a potential offer to join LIV Golf as a broadcaster.
Barkley was taking part in the pro-am ahead of LIV's event at Trump National Bedminster this weekend, having been invited to play after a meeting with LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman.
"They asked to talk to me, and I said yes, and they haven't said anything else," Barkley told a group of reporters as he walked off the 9th green. "So I don't know anything."
"I've got a real job. And clearly the people at work are a little stressed out, and my sponsors are stressed out. I need to say yeah maybe sooner than later."
Asked what his role could be in a potential broadcast, Barkley said that he would aim to keep things casual if he wound up working with them.
"Clearly it's going be a lot more laid back. You can have fun," Barkley said. "They're not hiring me for my golf expertise — it's for entertainment and having fun."
An NBA Hall of Famer, Barkley is currently a key facet of TNT's "Inside the NBA" alongside Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal.
LIV Golf has already made big headlines poaching away star players from the PGA Tour, and in recent days it made a similar play at a few prominent broadcasters, with former NBC and Golf Channel analyst David Feherty set to join the ranks of the LIV broadcast team.
Barkley's name was connected to LIV after news broke that Norman had asked for a meeting with him, which Barkley accepted, leading to his inclusion in Thursday's pro-am. But so far, Barkley still hasn't heard about any sort of official offer.
"They haven't offered me anything, so there's nothing I can say no to," Barkley said.
Barkley still has three years left on his deal with TNT, and he was clear Thursday that he would not be leaving his current role without an impressive offer in the near future.
"Basketball has been great to me. Turner has been great to me," Barkley told a group of reporters before his round began. "When I wake up in the morning, if they haven't said anything, I'm going to say, 'Guys, I'll be in your pro-am whenever y'all want me to if I'm available, but I'm going to go back to my job.' I love my job, and I don't think it's fair to keep them holding on.
"I'm not leaving my job unless there's a lot of money involved," Barkley said. "Nobody leaves a job for less money."
"I don't even have a number to be honest with you. I've got a great gig. I have three years left on my deal. I'm not going to screw that up. I'd probably lose all my sponsors and everything, so they'd have to make it worth my while."
Still, Barkley said that he would support both LIV and the PGA Tour moving forward should a deal not be made.
"These guys are great golfers. They look like they've got a great thing going. I got friends on both tours," Barkley said. "I'm not trying to be no good guy or bad guy. I don't see anything wrong with what these guys are doing. I wish them the best, and I wish the PGA Tour the best. I've got friends on both tours."