Former NBA star, Charles Barkley was born to Frank Barkley, and Charcey Glenn on 20th February 1963 in Leeds, Alabama.
His childhood was not rosy, as he endured a string of personal tragedies in addition to being abandoned by his father as a child.
After his father left the family, his mother remarried, and she had two more children.
Unfortunately, Rennie, Charles’ first stepbrother died as an infant. A few years later he lost his stepfather in a fatal auto crash when he was only 11 years old.
Education
The young Charles Barkley attended Leeds High School where he developed an interest in the game of basketball.
While in his junior year, he tried to get a place on the school’s basketball team, but he was constrained by his height.
However, he got lucky and grew six inches taller, and he was finally granted permission to join the team. And after he joined the team, he became an important player on the roster.
He showed flashes of brilliance every time he stepped out on the court and on one occasion, he impressed Sonny Smith, who worked as the Assistant Coach at Auburn University at the time, and he was eventually recruited by Auburn.
He played College basketball for three seasons and was hugely popular because of his fearless playing style despite his height disadvantage. His stature and style of play earned him the nickname ‘The Round Mound of Rebound’, and in some other quarters, he was fondly referred to as ‘Cristian Kid.’
NBA Career
Due to his prodigious talents, Barkley left Auburn University as a junior and he was subsequently drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft in 1984 by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Just like he had done in his High School and College years, he became the most important player for the franchise. He played for the Sixers for eight seasons and in those years, he played in six All-Star games and he was named MVP in two of those games.
By the time his spell with the Sixers was coming to an end, he had already become a cult hero amongst the fans.
After his time in Philadelphia, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns where he continued his impressive showing on the court.
After his first season with the Suns, he emerged as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1993 and also made his way to playing in his 7th All-Star Game.
After his early success with the Sixers, he struggled with injuries, especially a back injury which made him cut his time short in Phoenix. He left after the 95/96 season to team with Houston Rockets.
However, things didn’t go as expected because he was suspended for the opening game of the season, as a disciplinary measure for fighting with Charles Oakley before the season started.
The back issue didn’t abate and it caused him to miss out on 14 of the 67 games that season. But soon after the early troubles, he eventually became the leading scorer of the team that season.
As they say, all good things must come to an end. Barkley called time on his 16-year NBA career in 2000.
NBA Career Earnings
Charles Barkley made a fortune in his career as he reportedly earned a total of $40.3 million in salaries throughout his career.
Although his biggest payday came in the final season of his career, where he reportedly earned around $9 million.
Networth
Charles Barkley is a retired professional basketball player and current television sports analyst who has a net worth of $60 million. Charles Barkley’s net worth would be much higher, but he admittedly blew an estimated $10-30 million during his lifetime gambling.
Both during and after his professional playing days, Charles has been a popular brand endorser, regularly appearing in commercials for a number of major brands.
Endorsements
As a result of his popularity, Barkley has had a lot of endorsement deals both previously and at the moment. For instance, brands like Coca-Cola, Capital One, Nike, and T-Mobile have all worked with the former Suns player.
More recently in 2024, he was featured in a FanDuel commercial where he played himself and claimed that he will be backing his younger self who sat next to him in the commercial.
FanDuel made the most of the deep fake technology to simulate his younger version. Of course, the commercial was centered on the Same Game Parlay of the Sportsbook, but there was still room to showcase the FanDuel new player bonus.
The new player sign-up bonus is one of the top offers for new players in America, and it compares favorably to other betting bonuses reserved for new customers.
Given that FanDuel is one of the best sportsbook bonuses in the US, it is not surprising that they have a thriving partnership with the NBA legend.
TV Career
After his career in the NBA, Berkeley ventured into punditry. He became an NBA analyst for TNT. He is a regular on ‘Inside the NBA’, along with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal.
As a Broadcaster, Berkeley has won numerous awards for his brilliant analysis of the NBA on television.
In 2020, he restated his commitment to TNT by penning another five-year deal. The deal is reportedly worth $30 million. That’s an average of $6 million a year.
Two years later he further extended his partnership with the television network. This time he penned a 10-year deal worth $100 million.
Personal Life
The former Houston Rockets player is married to Maureen Blumhardt and the couple have a daughter together.
He has got a great family on the home front, but he allegedly is a heavy gambler who lost around $10 million to gambling. On the flip side, Charles Barkley made a donation of $5 million to Auburn University to start a scholarship for Black students.
The former Suns player is widely regarded as Republican, but he did support President Barack Obama in the 2008 election.
In the same year, it was reported that he considered running for governor in Alabama as an independent candidate, but that dream did not materialize.
