Shaquille O’Neal ditched football in jealousy of a ‘$15 million’ NBA contract

Shaquille O'Neal ditched football in jealousy of a '$15 million' NBA contract

Shaquille O’Neal is a big man, and he is one of the NBA’s most dominant players ever. However, he could have had a chance at making it to the NFL.

The big man stands at 7 feet tall and is a giant 315 pounds which means he definitely would have been a handful to go against in the NFL.

He was a handful in the NBA, and his size could have made a load of difference for an NFL team. Shaq used to play tight end, and he would have been perfect for the modern NFL.

His size would mean he could block anyone anytime, and he had the mobility in his playing days to get open on routes and catch passes.

In the end, Shaq chose basketball, and in hindsight it looks like a great decision. He won four titles and goes down as perhaps the single most dominant force in basketball.

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Shaquille O’Neal wanted NBA money and chose basketball over the NFL

During high school, Shaq was making waves as a basketball player. Scouts saw his size and ability and felt like he could be a perfect fit at the college level.

The big man was also playing football in high school, slotted in at the tight end position on his school team. Shaq made an appearance on the Dan Patrick show once, and he talked about how he had a chance at going to the NFL.

“I actually started out playing football,” O’Neal recalled. “I was a hell of a tight end. As you know, I have wonderful hands, my hands are impeccable, and I like to punish people.”

“But then a guy your size, hit me in my knee one day, I was all bummed out, and my dream came true. I was sitting on the couch and Jon Koncak signs for $15 million for three years. I was thinking, ‘If I can make $5 million doing the basketball thing, I think I am going to switch up now … true story.”

Koncak actually signed a 6-year, $13 million deal in 1989, so Shaq had the numbers a little bit off, but nevertheless he saw the bag, and he knew he wanted. Ultimately, he may have made the best decision of his life.

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Post Edited By: Ashish Priyadarshi
Los Angeles Lakers NBA Shaquille O'Neal

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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