Charles Barkley demands his old glory back! Amidst the halftime coverage, the Inside the NBA crew was occupied with their usual banter and hilarious jokes. This was followed by the crew indulging in Big Chicken’s Uncle Jerome. However, their Big Chicken time was interrupted when Shaquille O’Neal revealed the reason behind the absence of Chuck’s favorite sandwich. Well, with the legal obligation now far behind him, Chuck demanded that O’Neal must revive his former glory. He even handed a deadline to his colleague.

What is the old glory? Well, it’s the sandwich in Big Chicken that was named after Charles Barkley. And it was successful and popular too. However, the sandwich had to be dropped after Charles Barkley had inked a deal with an $11.9 million worth brand. During the conversation, O’Neal shared that he got a call from the Barkley’s lawyer requesting the sandwich to be removed or the name be replaced. “Your lawyer called and told me I couldn’t use it,” O’Neal said.

Barkley apparently loved the sandwich. And he was quick to demand that O’Neal should add the Charles Barkley Sandwich back to the menu. And regarding the call from the lawyer, Chuck hilariously suggested that whoever made it was already fired. “Let me tell you something. If somebody told you you couldn’t name a sandwich after me, they’d have fired. Get that on the menu by the end of the weekend,” he demanded.

Along with that, he promised that Shaq would be allowed to name a sandwich after himself. Well, O’Neal wasn’t joking about the call from the lawyer. Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern, on ES Fancast, confirmed that the Charles Barkley Sandwich was dropped in 2021 after Barkley’s deal. Later, O’Neal had suggested that the popular sandwich should be revived but with a new name. So, it became Big and Sloppy. What was the inspiration? And what was the exclusive deal that Chuck had signed?

Charles Barkley had bid goodbye to Subway

Just a few days ago, Chuck revealed that he had ended his deal with Subway. “Subway. Thank you… My deal with Subway is ending,” the Phoenix Suns legend said on The Steam Room podcast. Halpern had previously confirmed that the name of the sandwich was changed after that. From bizarre to exciting, his thrilling journey with the brand has come to an end. And perhaps it was time to revive the Charles Barkley sandwich.

Well, the Los Angeles Lakers legend’s Big Chicken owes its popularity to both its great quality and the personalizations. The Cheez-It-crusted delight is named Lucille’s Mac and Cheese after his mother. There are several offers which are inspired by the food that O’Neal enjoyed during his childhood. So, he wanted one named after his colleague as well but more as a joke. 

“That’s how it came to be, right. [O’Neal] called Matt Silverman, our main chef, and said ‘I want to do a sandwich called The Charles Barkley, make it big and sloppy the way he is,’” Halpern said. And Chef Silverman did it right. A burger abundant with mac and cheese, crispy fried onions, and roasted garlic barbeque aioli became the Charles Barkley sandwich. And now that Barkley’s deal with Subway is over, we might see it renamed the Charles Barkley Sandwich.