The LIV Golf Tour has an interesting slogan: Golf, But Louder. It would only make sense, then, they’d be interested in Charles Barkley. Charles is sports, only louder. We’ve never had an athlete more outspoken and less concerned with how you feel about his opinions than the ‘Round Mound of Rebound’.
Before you think you’ve entered another dimension in which Barkley is an accomplished golfer, the LIV Tour only appears interested in Sir Charles in a broadcasting role. Barkley has become, arguably, the most prominent sports commentator of our generation. The NBA on TNT is widely regarded as the best show of its kind and Barkley is consistently the most entertaining part of that show.
It was on my daily show, The Next Round, that Barkley revealed the LIV Tour had reached out to him. “I’m going to meet with LIV,” Barkley told me, “They called me and asked me would I meet with them and I said yes. I actually don’t know everything they want from me and, technically, what they want me to do. You’ve got to always look at every opportunity available.”
It doesn’t require a rocket science degree – though my brother actually holds one so, that phrase holds special meaning for me – to decipher what the LIV Tour would want from Barkley. The tour’s organizers have handed out money to PGA Tour players like it is Halloween candy. Their presentation, however, has zero star power and needs an infusion of entertainment.
Barkley would certainly provide that. He has no insight into what it takes to win a professional golf event but, if your mission statement is to be louder than the golf we have known, that might not be what LIV is looking for. The sudden retirement announcement by Nick Faldo sparked rumors he was leaving the CBS tower for a similar role with LIV, something he has flatly denied. With all respect to Faldo’s playing career, his broadcasting work is anything but “Golf, Only Louder”.
The LIV Tour’s American YouTube viewership numbers have been a mixed bag in two events. The first tournament was played in England so it was streamed during work hours Thursday and Friday then early Saturday for the final round. That event reeled in 66,000 views Thursday, 607,000 views Friday and 817,000 views Saturday.
The second event was in Portland which allowed for prime time viewership in parts of the country. That event drew 554,000 on Thursday, 470,000 on Friday and 760,000 for Saturday’s final round. All things considered, I’d call those numbers a success. That said, LIV’s Chief Media Officer Will Staeger says the upstart tour is seeking a media rights deal for their 2023 season.
That leads to my speculation, and it is only my speculation, that LIV’s pass at Barkley is wholly related to media rights exploration. It would be highly unlikely CBS, NBC or ESPN would be interested parties in a LIV partnership. Those networks are in business with the PGA Tour and that would be like inviting your mistress to your wife’s birthday party.
My guess would be that any potential suitors would’ve already told the LIV Tour their production would need a little more pop to attract their interest. That would explain why the upstart tour has hired David Feherty away from NBC, as first reported by the New York Post. Feherty is one of the more entertaining characters in all of broadcasting and perhaps the most entertaining voice in golf, though, that’s not a high bar.
What would accomplish adding “pop” more than hiring Barkley? In fact, teaming him with Feherty would have potential to be extremely entertaining. Northern Ireland and Leeds, Alabama don’t have a ton in common, this could be a LIV Tour version of the old Odd Couple show.
It wouldn’t be a fair characterization to say the LIV Tour has reeled in any player they want. I will say I think they have convinced a much better crop of players to make the jump than many thought likely. Perhaps the brains behind the LIV don’t think just recruiting top players is enough, now they are turning their attention to the broadcast booth. In the hierarchy of names the tour has convinced to jump, Barkley would easily be in the top two or three in universal name recognition.
We know the money the Saudi royal family has promised to the LIV Tour players, in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars. If names like Mickelson, Johnson, Koepka and DeChambeau are worth that, what is Charles Barkley worth? $25 million? $50 million? Why not?
Barkley could re-establish the ceiling when it comes to money spent on athletes-turned-announcers before Tom Brady even gets his first FOX direct deposit. Every talent agent in the industry will be watching this number and cheering for it to go as high as possible.
Imagine, for a moment, NBA legend Charles Barkley being the highest paid announcer in golf. Just a couple of months ago, when the PGA Tour was the only tour, that idea would seem completely laughable.
Now, it could be Charles Barkley – Golf announcer, but richer.
Ryan Brown is a columnist for Barrett Sports Media, and a co-host of the popular sports audio/video show ‘The Next Round’ formerly known as JOX Roundtable, which previously aired on WJOX in Birmingham. You can find him on Twitter @RyanBrownLive and follow his show @NextRoundLive.
