Charles Barkley joining LIV Golf?

What would it take Charles Barkley to join LIV Golf? ‘Something crazy.’

He is, of course, Charles Barkley, owner of golf’s most-infamous swing and sports television’s least-censored voice. In recent days, Barkley has found himself at the center of the LIV rumor mill after an impromptu dinner with the Saudi-backed league’s CEO, Greg Norman. Could Barkley, who is entering the final year of his deal with TNT, be LIV’s latest high-profile broadcast addition? The answer, according to the man himself, is a firm maybe.

“It’s been very stressful. It’s been tough. I don’t know anything to be honest with you,” Barkley told the Dan Patrick Show on Monday afternoon. “I met with Greg, he asked me if I was interested and I said ‘of course, I’m here, I wouldn’t have had dinner with you if I wasn’t interested.’ I’m waiting for them to make me an offer, I guess. But it’s been very stressful on me.”

It’s a move that makes some sense for both parties. For a league still battling for notoriety, Barkley would be a shrewd addition to move the needle with both potential broadcast partners and sports-watching audiences — two groups LIV has struggled to make inroads with to date. For the former NBA MVP and current TNT NBA analyst, LIV represents an opportunity to make a boatload of money while simultaneously reducing his week-to-week schedule.

But for Barkley, the former would be the key to it all: a boatload of money.

For LIV to wrangle Barkley, the payday would have to be significant — as much as two-to-three times his current annual salary, which is believed to be around $20 million. But the payoff could be just as large, giving LIV a star with cross-sport appeal whose appearances on The Match broadcasts have made him something of a known entity among golf fans.