Charles Barkley clarifies NIL comments on Auburn as Tigers legend opposes donating millions every year

Charles Barkley made headlines earlier this month for taking a strong stance against NIL in college athletics, stating his recent donations towards HBCUs and building homes in his hometown of Birmingham were more important to him than funding “the cesspool that is college athletics.” The Auburn basketball legend and 11-time NBA All-Star clarified that he still intends to donate to Tigers athletics but won’t provide millions of dollars annually.

“There’s not a single person in the world that’s given more money to Auburn, legal or illegal, than me,” Barkley said Wednesday at the Regions Tradition fundraiser in Birmingham. “But the notion I’m going to give them millions of dollars a year so Auburn can be good at football and basketball, that’s not going to happen. I’ve been great, and I’ll give Auburn anything. But the notion that I’m going to come up with millions of dollars every year to help us be good at basketball and football, that’s just stupid.”

Auburn has managed well in the transfer portal era, with or without Barkley’s contributions. Bruce Pearl and the basketball program are coming off their second Final Four berth in the last six years and boast the nation’s No. 7-ranked transfer portal class with seven commitments for next season. The Tigers football team disappointed with a 5-7 record last fall but a breakout 2025 campaign under third-year coach Hugh Freeze could be in the works, on the strength of the nation’s eighth-ranked portal class. 

“I support Auburn unconditionally,” Barkley said. “Hugh is our coach. I got a lot of love and respect for him, and I want us to do well. Anytime I see Coach Freeze, I always give him the love and respect he deserves. … What Bruce Pearl has done at Auburn is incredible. In my wildest dreams, I never thought Auburn would make it to the Final Four, and nobody here thought that either. For him to take us to the Final Four two times in the last few years is incredible and amazing. I’m proud that Bruce is our coach. The No. 1 thing is that he graduates our players, which is my only real concern. As long as he is graduating players, we’re good. The winning is a bonus.”

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Barkley’s previous NIL comments were made during a podcast appearance May 8, when he claimed NIL and the transfer portal have “ruined college athletics.”

“I just gave 10 million dollars to HBCUs; that stuff is way more important to me,” Barkley said. “I just gave a million dollars to ‘Blight’, in my hometown of Birmingham, to rebuild houses. That stuff is way more important to me than joining the cesspool that is college athletics. We’ve ruined college athletics. … You have to come up with tens of millions of dollars to pay kids to play basketball, and have them be free agents every year and transfer to another school.”