Charles Barkley ends talks with LIV to stay at TNT / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP – Scanpix Credit AFP – Scanpix

Charles Barkley has ended talks with LIV golf and will stay with TNT, the former NBA legend told the New York Post on Friday morning.

Charles Barkley

Position:SFAge:59Height:198 cmWeight:113 kgBirth place:United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

Barkley had been offered a surely lucrative deal to leave TNT’s "Inside the NBA" to commentate events for the controversial LIV series.

"I want to thank Greg Norman and LIV for their interest in me," Barkley told the New York Post. "I wish those guys great success and nothing but the best. But, in my best interest, and being fair to Turner - because Turner and basketball have given me every single thing in my life - it is best for me to move on and I’m staying with Turner for the rest of my TV career."

Barkley played in the pro-am round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament on Thursday in New Jersey. Last week, the New York Post reported that the 59-year-old Hall-of-Famer and LIV figurehead Greg Norman had dinner in Atlanta, where they discussed the possibility of Barkley joining LIV as a broadcaster.

On his radio show, Dan Patrick said Barkley told him he'd have to leave TNT and his position as a studio analyst to take a LIV deal. The Post reports Barkley has three years and $30 million remaining on his current contract with TNT.

LIV has stirred controversy in the golf world, using funding from the Saudi Arabian government to throw massive guaranteed contracts at golfers and pull them off the PGA Tour. Barkley’s presence could have helped the series land a TV deal.

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