Shaquille O’Neal had a very successful NBA career. And over the past few years, he has established himself as a successful businessman too. A large part of Shaq’s $400 million worth came from his NBA salary. In his 19-year NBA career, the former Los Angeles Lakers star earned $286,344,668. Even by today’s standards, this is not a small amount. However, when it comes to the top five earning players of all time, Shaq doesn’t even make the list. Over time, as players have become more powerful, their payments have increased exponentially. Players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Giannis Antetokounmpo earn a massive amount from their respective contracts.
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Stephen Curry became the first player to sign a $200 million contract with the Golden State Warriors. Since that time, teams have started to make long-term investments in their players. Big-money contracts have become so normal that newer players like Tyrese Haliburton, Anthony Edwards, Desmond Bane, and LaMelo Ball have all signed over $200 million contracts with their teams. Haliburton also had a rookie-level max contract that could get him $260 million along with certain incentives, including making the All-NBA team.
Shaquille O’Neal shares the list of the top 10 highest-earning NBA contracts of all-time
On his Instagram story, Shaq posted a video of a user named, Jay Bling, who is a DJ by profession. In the video, Bling listed the top 10 highest NBA contracts of All-time. What was surprising about the list was the fact that it had only three former players on it. Shaq, Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant were the only non-active players who made the list. Former Washington Wizards player John Wall stood in 10th place with a total of $276,480,000 in earnings, and Big Diesel stood in ninth place with $286,340,000.
Take a look at the tweet by tragicpatek below as well.
Shaq has four championships, and ahead of him are other franchise players with zero championships, like Russell Westbrook at the fourth spot, Chris Paul at the second spot, and James Harden at the eighth spot. That said, it was no surprise that LeBron James topped the list with total earnings of $431,600,000 from the NBA.
Post-NBA, Shaquille O’Neal has established himself as a businessman
O’Neal had a glorious 19-year NBA career that included four NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, and a regular season MVP. He has established himself as one of the greatest to ever do it. Despite the fact that Shaq is 9th on the list of highest-earned NBA contracts, he has made a large part of his money today from his businesses and investments. Over the years, he has established himself as a business-savvy individual and made a $400 million fortune for himself. He has made investments in failing startups, and today some of them are worth over a billion dollars. Big Aristotle has owned fitness gyms, 150 car washes, 155 Five Guys Burger & Fries, several Papa John’s, and many Krispy Kreme restaurants.
He has also made investments in Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Lyft Inc., Ring, and Vitaminwater which have earned him a massive amount. There are approximately 40 brands that O’Neal owns. He also has a contract with Turner Sports to co-host TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’. Oftentimes, it seems like Shaq’s real career started after his retirement.
