Charles Barkley was one of the top players during the 1990s. An exceptional talent, his skill and ability were rewarded in the 1991-1992 season when he was paid $3,200,000 for his services to the Philadelphia 76ers. With the money in the bag, Sir Charles was satisfied. However, this was around the time when endorsement deals were becoming popular among NBA superstars. Nevertheless, as he revealed in his book, Sir Charles: Wit and Wisdom of Charles Barkley, endorsements did not interest him. All he wanted was an NBA Championship.
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Despite claiming he didn’t need any endorsements, Chuck has had several big deals over the years. Major companies like Capital One, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Nike have all been endorsed by the Hall of Famer. Additionally, he endorsed multiple products, from fast food to deodorants to sodas. It didn’t matter to Barkley, as he was raking in the cash, just like he did with his $3,200,000 deal.
Charles Barkley once boldly claimed he didn’t need endorsements in light of his $3,200,000 deal
In the 1991-1992 season, Charles Barkley was earning the big bucks. The 76ers were paying him what at the time was a whopping $3,200,000. A salary that was more than enough to keep Chuck happy. So much so, that he completely rejected the idea of endorsements. Rather, his interest was more toward winning a championship than it was toward earning more money.
The Hall of Famer gave this quote around the time of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Playing for the Dream Team, Barkley was one of the star players and even led the team in scoring. His efforts, coupled with those of his teammates led to him winning Olympic Gold, a huge achievement.
However, Sir Charles wasn’t satisfied with just a gold medal. His ultimate aim was winning a championship ring, and he came close. Playing for the Phoneix Suns a year later, Barkley made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, he and the Suns fell to Michael Jordan in six games, thus ending his pursuit.
“I don’t need endorsements. All I want is an NBA championship ring and I can live happily ever after.”
Charles Barkley has signed an endorsement deal with @FanDuel and will use his platform on TNT’s #NBA coverage “to make predictions and guarantees about the night’s games,” per @bristei.https://t.co/wqlj1f9aMk pic.twitter.com/614KZbUjul
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) December 21, 2020
Things only became worse for Barkley in terms of his championship desires after that. Despite impressing on several occasions, he never made it back to the Finals. But, while his championship chances decreased his endorsement deals increased, as he ended his career in 2000, ironically with more endorsements than silverware.
Sir Charles did not care about losing millions of dollars as long as he could be himself
He may have a lot of endorsement deals now, but money was never an issue for Charles Barkley. He got paid because he was extremely good, but the idea of losing millions of dollars never bothered him. In fact, he once claimed he would much rather be himself and be able to say whatever he wants rather than stick to a “game plan” and earn millions.
An interesting outlook on life from Sir Charles. And, for the most part, he has been true to his word. While he does get paid millions, he has always unapologetically been himself. Fortunately, it is this personality that has attracted many companies, allowing him to build his own empire worth $60,000,000.
