Until recently, you could stop by the nearest Big Chicken to sink your teeth into Charles Barkley. Or the next best thing to the Round Mound of Rebound. Now the NBA on TNT analyst has foiled Shaquille O’Neal‘s sinister prank while making bank with a $9 billion fast-food chain. He’s taken a cue from his on-air frenemy too, becoming a commercial-starring machine and curating a menu. Shaq has responded to this betrayal with a snub. He is still keeping tummies happy with a hearty delight while he’s at it.

Josh Halpern dished about one of their bestsellers on the ES Fancast that started from the Shaq-Chuck friendship. While it is now known by a different name, it’s still the perfect fix to our sloppy cravings.

Charles Barkley changes Big Chicken Shaq menu

Josh Halpern did a loyalty test on ES Fancast. Between a Charles Barkley sandwich and the Big Aristotle, he’ll always pick the sandwich named after Shaquille O’Neal. But that problem is solved as the Charles Barkley is now the ‘Big & Sloppy.’ The Big Chicken CEO said they had to rename one of the most popular dishes named after Sir Charles when the Philadelphia 76ers star signed a deal with another global sandwich chain.

In 2021, Subway revamped its menu by bringing star athletic talent. Joining Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, and Stephen Curry was Charles Barkley.

Big Chicken would launch the Charles Barkley sandwich in mid-2022. Halpern recalled that Shaq called Matt Silverman, one of the founders and a professional chef, to make this dish. “I want to do a sandwich called the Charles Barkley. Make it big and sloppy the way he is.”

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A few months later, Subway would also add a sandwich tribute to Chuck. The Frontcourt Feast by Charles Barkley is now in a menu featuring subs named after Simon Biles and Stephen Curry among others. Barkley would even star in multiple commercials for Subway.

This understandably presented a conflict. Big Chicken would then rename the Barkley sandwich the “Big & Sloppy.” It still lives up to the new name.

Shaquille O’Neal gives a nod to Barkley

The Big Chicken menu has most dishes named after the NBA star behind this fast-casual dining empire.

But O’Neal has a way of including his loved ones too. As most of the menu is his mom’s recipes, Lucille O’Neal features as Lucille’s Mac and Cheese. Shaq’s hot sauce-loving bodyguard is the inspiration behind the Uncle Jerome.

The erstwhile Charles Barkley is a burger topped with crispy fried onions, mac and cheese, and roasted garlic barbeque aioli. It’s “big food and big fun” in one sandwich as promised.

The name change didn’t hurt Big Chicken. The ‘Big & Sloppy’ remains one of the bestselling items in most locations speaking of the brand’s Shaq-driven innovation. Since Halpern dodged the loyalty test, which would you pick between the FrontCourt Feast and the Big & Sloppy?

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