Imago
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Imago
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Charles Barkley has never been one to sugarcoat his opinions, and the NCAA is his latest target. The Hall of Famer blasted the organization over what he sees as chaos surrounding NIL and the transfer portal while Shaquille O’Neal offered a very different take on how players should handle the new era. The NBA Hall of Famer does not oppose paying college players. However, he struggles to understand how the eligibility criteria work for them. Speaking on The Next Round, the 62-year-old didn’t hold back.
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“NCAA, they are a bunch of bumbling idiots; I do not know what their rules are,” Chuck said without hesitation. “I do not understand how this whole thing works. I saw they just gave a kid who plays football a ninth year in football, but they did not give a kid Chambliss, a sixth year. And I am not sure what the NCAA is doing.” Barkley appeared to be referencing cases like Trinidad Chambliss and Charles Bediako.
Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss lost his appeal after the NCAA denied him a sixth year. He missed the 2022 season at Ferris State due to respiratory issues after tonsil surgery. However, the NCAA cited weak medical records. Despite throwing for 3,937 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just three interceptions in 2025, his college career is now over.
Meanwhile, Montana State linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu earned a rare ninth year for 2026. He lost over five seasons to verified injuries, including foot surgery at USC. The NCAA granted relief following a strong 2025 season in which he recorded 43 tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles.
In contrast, Charles Bediako faces uncertainty. After two seasons at Alabama (6.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game) and a year in the G League averaging eight points and six rebounds, Bediako was ruled ineligible despite a court injunction.
Moreover, this isn’t Charles Barkley’s first rant about the NCAA. In 2025, the NBA legend raised concerns about the money college basketball players receive.
“This notion that 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 and get more money every year,” Barkley said. “Like, we don’t even get to do that in the NBA. Can you imagine if players in the NBA got to be free agents every year? I’m not opposed to players getting paid. I want to make that clear.”
Now, interestingly enough, Shaquille O’Neal takes a different approach to the money young players get paid. In his opinion, they should spend some amount and save the rest in such a way that everyone feels they had nothing in the first place.
Shaq Offers a Different Approach to NIL Money
Shaquille O’Neal has been the loudest critic of the modern-day NBA. Especially when it comes to salaries, the Lakers legend doesn’t hide his feelings. Now, in his recent appearance on expediTIously with Tip T.I. Harris, the 53-year-old admitted he feels jealous of players earning big money and criticized them for cashing in without protecting or elevating the game for fans.
Then he shifted to the NCAA. “Somebody asked me the other day, what would I do? I would do it different. I would definitely take the money,” O’Neal said. For example, if he got $2 million, “The first million I am taking care of my mommy and daddy bills. Second million, I am going to take $250, give me a whip, give me a little chain, get me a watch. Then I am going to put the rest away and act like I am not got nothing.”
Why would he do that? “Because if you get comfortable, that is when people like us who grew up with nothing can catch up to you. People do not catch up to us because we do not get comfortable.”
So, the NCAA circus has legends shaking their heads. While Charles Barkley questions the chaos around eligibility, transfers, and NIL freedom, Shaquille O Neal shrugs and says take the bag but stay hungry. One demands clarity. The other demands discipline. In this new era, talent alone is not enough. Timing, paperwork, and mindset now decide everything.