Charles Barkley Is Publicly Begging ESPN To Fire Him Today

Charles Barkley isn't afraid of losing his airtime on ESPN, that's for sure.

During halftime of Game 3 between the Spurs and Knicks, fans at Madison Square Garden were treated to a performance from Cardi B. As she was briefly shown on ABC, Barkley cracked a joke about the female rapper's appearance.

"I don't know if those B's. They might be Cardi D's," the Hall of Famer said. "I'm pretty sure those aren't B's."

Several fans ripped Barkley for this comment, calling it "wild" and "unfunny" for a veteran broadcaster.

Barkley fired back at his critics during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show." He also let people know that he's more than OK with ESPN firing him.

In fact, Barkley wants ESPN to fire him as early as today.

"Dan, you know I'm hoping they fire me. I got six or seven years left on my contract that they know I've got no chance of doing. I would love for them to fire me and have to pay me for the next six or seven years," Barkley said.

"I would love to get fired, I'm not gonna lie. There's zero chance I'm working the next six or seven years. I heard through the grapevine that I make good money, so I'm grateful for that. But yeah, people can't take a joke."

Barkley isn't kidding about making good money.

When TNT lost out on the NBA's  11-year, $76 billion rights agreement, Barkley shared the terms of his contract.

"My deal is 10 years, $210 million," Barkley told The Athletic. "[TNT Sports] has to come to me ASAP and they have to guarantee my whole thing or they can offer me a pay cut, which there is no chance of that happening and I'll be [a] free agent."

ESPN doesn't want to pay Barkley absurd money for doing absolutely nothing, so we doubt he'll be fired anytime soon.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 10:51 AM.