Charles Barkley is one of the best - again

I wrote last week about a newer YouTube channel I was watching and wanted to tell you about. When you love sports like I do, sometimes you watch people play and sometimes, you simply listen to people talk about what they think when they watch other people play.

For years, the majority of the sports media consumed was created and distributed by journalists. That made sense because until the last few decades, the majority of sports media was written, printed and then read.

You now likely “watch” people talk about sports and, more often than not, those people now talking about the game were some of the same people you once watched play it. There is no better example of this than Charles Barkley. In my opinion, he paved the way.

There is a real chance that the best sports show on television is about to end. TNT may be losing their NBA rights deal, which could break up the incredibly popular studio group of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.

If you have ever seen their post game or halftime show, you know why they are considered the best and if you have watched it long enough, you know why Chuck is the best of the best. The man is as entertaining as he is informed, and while he may not be as informed as he used to be, he is every bit as entertaining.

Take a look around the sports media landscape and you will see that seemingly every athlete has some sort of podcast or YouTube channel now. I’m sure some just want to control their own media message, but I honestly believe the majority are building or considering their next career.

I am certain that Charles Barkley has made more money talking about basketball on TNT than he ever did playing for the NBA. You think the other athletes haven’t noticed that?

Barkley and Michael Jordan came out in the same college draft and I can’t imagine two more influential basketball players as it regards player success off the court. Jordan changed how players were marketed and compensated for their endorsements while Barkley showed you could have a second Hall of Fame career.

While Charles Barkley catches a lot of grief from his cohorts on the show about his lack of NBA championships, his collection of Emmys is pretty impressive. So are the countless stories of his kindness and philanthropy.

I will talk about those on another day, but there are a lot of them, especially for a fella who once made it very clear in a Nike commercial that he was not a role model. I know he was talking about not being a role model for kids, but he has absolutely become a role model for athletes trying to get into the media.

Charles showed that a former athlete could be great on camera talking about the sport he loves. Many players have followed in his footsteps and tried to do the same, demonstrating just how rare a talent Charles Barkley is.

Shannon Sharpe, Patrick McAfee and the Kelce brothers are enjoying well earned media success. I know “Uncle Shay” recently took the time to have Charles on his show and thank him for it personally. I’m not so sure everyone else shouldn’t do the same.