Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the most business savvy players to have stepped foot on NBA hardwood. Despite going on to earn close to $300 million over the course of his 19-year career, he understood very early on that the way he could sustain his hundred millionaire status was through off-court endeavors.
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Shaq has established himself as the ‘king’ of commercials and endorsements. People like Charles Barkley and his own daughters, Mimi and Me’Aarah, have hilariously complained about how much they see him on television.
Aside from endorsements, O’Neal is also incredibly big on investing his money in the right avenues. Perhaps his biggest investment and most profitable one was when he became the second largest shareholder in Authentic Brands Group, a team that owns the rights to Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and many more.
Shaquille O’Neal on buying an NBA and NFL team
Shaquille O’Neal has never been shy to talk about his wealth. He’s done segments on financial literacy and openly talked about what all he’s invested in.
Now, while on his ‘Big Podcast’, he’s once again reiterated his desire to purchase not just an NBA team, but an NFL team as well. This came after Spice Adams told him to buy the Washington Commanders to which Nischelle asked Shaq if he was still trying to buy an NBA team
“First of all, Nischelle, I’m not broke. I can do both boo boo. You know what they call me? The Don Dada of Chatsworth. Don’t you ever forget it,” said the 4x NBA champion.
O’Neal’s reported net worth is around $400 million and it’s been said that he takes home close to $60 million a year from his investments and endorsements. With this money, it would very easy for ‘The Big Aristotle’ to purchase a major chunk in an NBA team.
Currently, there are only three former NBA players who have stake in NBA teams. Dwyane Wade is the most recent as he bought a minority stake in the Utah Jazz. Grant Hill has stake in the Atlanta Hawks and of course, Michael Jordan is the chairperson of the Charlotte Hornets.
Shaquille O’Neal has stated before that he wants an NBA team
Shaquille O’Neal, regarding potentially purchasing an NBA team, recently said that he wanted to ‘go back home’. It’s unclear what he means by this. Does he mean San Antonio since he grew up in the area? He could also mean Orlando, the team that drafted him, or the Los Angeles Lakers, the team that he was most successful with.
O’Neal is no stranger to having stake in an NBA team. He once had a minority stake in the Sacramento Kings that he sold last year. Him selling this minority stake gives an even clearer indication of him wanting to be involved in another team.
