"Not a person who's giving more money to Auburn legally or illegally than me": $90m-worth Charles Barkley makes feelings known on donations

NBA legend Charles Barkley has become renowned for his wisecracks as a part of the crew on TNT and his stellar basketball career. Before he arrived in the NBA, the outspoken Barkley starred for the Auburn Tigers between 1981 and 1984.

Over the years, Barkley has been vocal about his support for the Tigers while attending Tigers games and donating money to his alma mater. On Wednesday, during the Regions Pro-Am in Birmingham, the $90 million-worth Barkley (as per Celebrity Net Worth) revealed his thoughts on donating money to Auburn boosters to fund the NIL wave sweeping college sports.

“I’ve given more money to Auburn, legal or illegal, than any athlete in the history of the school,” Charles Barkley said.

“There’s not a single person in the world who’s given more money to Auburn, legal or illegal, than me, but the notion that I’m going to come up with a couple million dollars every year so that we can be good at basketball and football. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard."

Barkley added:

“I’ve been rich for a long time. I plan to stay that way. But the notion that I’m going to give Auburn millions of dollars every year so we can be good at sports, that’s just not going to happen. I’m really proud of what I’ve given Auburn and I’m going to continue to give them money, but I’m not going to give them millions of dollars every year so we can be good at sports. That’s just stupid.”

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When Bruce Pearl promised Charles Barkley a natty

Charles Barkley averaged 14.1 points on 62.6% shooting from the floor, 9.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.7 blocks per game during his Auburn Tigers career. He led the Tigers to their first appearance at the NCAA Tournament but never won the national championship or an NBA title.

Before the Tigers played the Florida Gators in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, during a news conference, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl promised to try and win the natty for Barkley.

“Somehow, I've got to find a way to win so that Charles Barkley can give Magic Johnson some crap and represent,” Bruce Pearl said.

“Magic's always floating those rings at Charles, right? He's always floating those rings, and Charles ain't got any rings. I've got to try to get some rings for Charles, so he can float them back at Magic.”

During his career as an analyst on TNT, Charles Barkley has regularly been the butt of jokes from his fellow analysts because he never won a title. Auburn fell short of a natty win once again when they fell to the Florida Gators in the Final Four pushing Bruce Pearl's promise to Barkley even further.