ATLANTA, Ga. — Charles Barkley says that when he finally walks away from television, he will not use the exit to settle old scores, and he pointed to Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the example he does not plan to follow.
Appearing on a satellite radio sports show Wednesday, the Hall of Famer was asked how his own farewell compares with Rodgers’. Barkley said he would not torch his relationships or bad-mouth former partners on the way out, as he said Rodgers has done.
Rodgers announced in May that 2026 would be his final NFL season. In a September podcast appearance with teammate Cam Heyward, he made pointed remarks about people from his past, including two former Green Bay teammates.
Barkley, 63, has said the 2026-27 NBA season will likely be his last on Inside the NBA. He has left the door open, though, saying he would probably reconsider if longtime host Ernie Johnson decides to keep working. He has said he stayed on largely so the roughly 200 staffers behind the show could keep their jobs.
Johnson has hosted the program since 1990, and Barkley has sat beside him and Kenny Smith since 2000. The show changed networks last season under the league’s 2024 media rights deals, with TNT still producing it.
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