"What's the best way to leave?" - Charles Barkley goes philosophical while discussing his 10-year, $100,000,000 TNT contract

Charles Barkley inked a $100 million contract extension with TNT last year, putting the Hall of Famer in a position to make big money over the next decade.

In addition, "The Chuckster" also agreed to join a new show focusing on pop culture. As such, he is going to be quite a busy man.

Despite that, he recently spoke about the thing that keeps him motivated, saying that he simply doesn't know when to walk away.

During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Barkley spoke about the situation, saying:

"What's interesting is I can't believe I've been doing this sh*t for 23 years. 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. When's the best time to walk away?

"You want to walk away while the show is still successful or you want to go like 'hey man we're really sick of seeing y'all face after all these years.' So that's really the only thing that keeps me up late at night, trying to figure out what's the best way to leave?"

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Charles Barkley's previous retirement plan, and why it was thrown out the window

When Charles Barkley signed his ten-year contract extension, many were surprised. Although TNT's "Inside the NBA" has been wildly popular over the years, Barkley had already announced his retirement plans previously.

Speaking to WJFK106.7 in 2021, the Hall of Famer stated that he would retire at the age of 60.

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“[I’m] just having fun, talking about sports. I’m trying to hang on for another couple years until I’m 60, and then they can kiss my a*s. I’m only working until 60. I’ve already told them that.

"We can’t even have fun anymore. We’ve had fun all these years, and now all of a sudden in the last year and a half, everybody’s trying to get everybody fired, and it really sucks.”

While Charles Barkley stands to make millions throughout the duration of his new contract, NBA fans may not get the chance to see him fulfill the contract. As he explained in the previously mentioned interview with Sports Illustrated, there’s no chance that fans see him working until he’s 70.

Although the appeal of continuing the show given its success can’t be denied, Barkley doesn’t want to be working at the end of his life. As such, it sounds as though fans should enjoy the time he has left on the Inside the NBA set.

Given that Charles Barkley has shown no signs of slowing down, it's safe to say he hasn't made a decision on when to walk away quite yet.

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