Charles Barkley, 60, says there’s ‘NO CHANCE’ he finishes his $100m, 10-year deal to stay with Inside the NBA, revealing he’d rather spend time with his two grandkids: ‘There’s no chance in hell I’m working when I’m 70 – zero’

Don’t expect the Round Mound of Rebound to stick around TNT for the duration of his decade-long, $100million deal. 

As Charles Barkley revealed on the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, the 60-year-old Basketball Hall of Famer has no plans on analyzing NBA games as a septuagenarian.

‘There’s no chance in hell I’m gonna be working when I’m 70. Zero,’ Barkley said. ‘But [Turner Sports] said, ”Hey let’s just make people think you’re gonna hang around.”

‘I’ll be honest with you,’ he continued. ‘The only thing that keeps me up at night is trying to figure out when’s the best time to walk away. Because the one thing you don’t want to do is stay too long.

‘What’s interesting is, I can’t believe I’ve been doing this s*** 23 years,’ he continued. ‘That’s what’s crazy. I mean, that’s a long time. So what really keeps me up at night, to be flat-out honest with you, and I don’t know the right or the wrong answer, is when’s the best time to walk away?’

Along with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, Barkley is a key figure for TNT’s popular Inside the NBA studio show, which serves as a pre-game, half-time, and post-game accompaniment to the network’s nationally televised games.

His matter-of-fact analysis, delivered in his famous Alabama accent, has made Barkley a favorite among hoops fans. He’s also received interest from the upstart LIV Golf tour and in April, TNT’s sister station, CNN, announced the former Auburn star will host a weekly talk show alongside Gayle King.

But while he appears to be getting busier in his 60s, the grandfather of two says he’s appreciating spending time with his family these days.

‘I will tell you this, two of my mentors are Ernie Johnson and [CBS analyst] Clark Kellogg,’ Barkley told Traina. ‘And they told me being a grandpa was gonna be the greatest thing in the world. And let me tell you something, they are right.

Nikola Jokic talks to Barkley and his TNT co-stars during the NBA Finals on June 1

‘I mean, little Henry and the little girl, she’s new. Henry is 16 months, and little Charlie is like five months, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me by far in my life. Henry’s starting to walk and run, and Charlie’s just still obviously a newbie, but when they’re 8, 9, 10, I wanna be around them. But like I say, I won’t be around when they get older.’

Barkley has recently dropped around 60 pounds by taking the controversial drugs, Ozempic and Mounjara, which were designed to treat diabetes, but have also been prescribed by doctors ‘off label’ to fight obesity.

He hopes the weight loss will help him stick around to spend more time with the grandkids.

‘Like I said, I am not even worried about death. I’m not morbid, but I want to spend time with them while I can, and that’s my main motivation,’ he said.