3-2-1… Has the countdown to Charles Barkley’s first social media post begun? The genial Emmy-winning basketball analyst and NBA legend has famously avoided social media, even as his public profile has grown ever larger. Barkley evidently doesn’t want all the trouble that comes with an active Twitter and his Inside the NBA on TNT spot already gives him a big platform to share his iconoclastic thoughts.
But Barkley now has to come to grips with the idea that his studio mate and fellow hoops legend Shaquille O’Neal is picking his pocket and literally taking his doughnut money. Both Shaq and Barkley love to eat. But it’s Barkley who has made public his enormous love and unfailing devotion to Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Just look at this face:
But because Barkley is mute on social media, Krispy Kreme gave their promotional money to Shaq. Shaq has nearly 15 million followers on Twitter and 12 million on Instagram. Shaq is taking that money right out of Barkley big pockets — because the Krispy Kreme gig naturally belongs to Charles if only he’d agree to work on Twitter and Instagram.
How much money has Shaq taken from Barkley? Put it this way: while each deal is individually negotiated, a reasonable estimate of the basic rate for major social macro influencers like Shaq is $2,000-$3,000 per post for every million followers. At the $3,000 per post price, with his combined total of 27 million followers, Shaq could be charging Krispy Kreme about $81,000 per post.
That’s money Charles Barkley is giving up, just so he doesn’t have to read in the predictable comments how he never won an NBA title.
You have to go to @krispykreme TODAY #NationalDoughnutDay! Get any doughnut you want for FREE, and if they give away 1 million, we’ll get a BRAND NEW doughnut for FREE later this month … and it’s AMAZING 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/OR54tBO70h
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) June 7, 2019
