“Shaquille O’Neal Faced Painful Rejection”: Contrary to Diesel’s Heartwarming Story, Reebok Was Allegedly Responsible for Ending $15 Million Deal

The story of Shaquille O’Neal and Reebok is one with many twists and turns. It started in June of 1992, Shaq was headed to Orlando with hype comparable only to rookie Michael Jordan. Things were looking up for him but got even better when Nike was outbid by Reebok for a blockbuster trade.

Shaq was 0ffered a $15 million multi-year deal to wear and promote Reebok Shoes and apparel. The deal was, by a long shot, even bigger than the one Michael had gotten as a rookie. However, by 1998, it seemed that the partnership between the two parties was nearing an end.

7ft 1″ Shaquille O’Neal and Reebok decided to part ways ‘mutually.’ Years later, a much different story took hold over the NBA community. One that made him look more like a Robin Hood figure than a sharp entrepreneur. But it seems, that story is not as factual as previously believed.

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Reebok allegedly ended the Shaquille O’Neal deal

In his book Three-Ring Circus, author Jeff Pearlman dived deep into the history of the Lakers dynasty that would go on to win three back-to-back championships.

In this book, Pearlman also shed a little more light on the abrupt ending of Shaq and Reebok’s collaboration. Upon further research, we also found certain articles from 1998 that support his claim.

Pearlman in the book suggested that the deal with Diesel was bleeding Reebok dry. The footwear and clothing brand realized it would be better to end the partnership than continue it further. They had realized, after all, that not many could relate to the 7ft 1″ center.

Pearlman wrote: “After six years of paying him to be their superstar endorser of athletic shoes, Reebok cut the Lakers center loose. Dave Fogelson, the company’s spokesperson, said Reebok and O’Neal had “mutually agreed” to not renew a five-year, $15 million sponsorship deal—and this was pure fib. What the company had learned through its failed partnership with the 7-foot-1, 325-pound mountain was that sneaker buyers don’t relate very well to 7-foot-1, 325-pound mountains. When Sports Marketing Newsletter projected its top 10 endorsement earners for 1998–99, O’Neal was nowhere to be seen. He was cold product. Or, put simply, he was unrelatable to the average consumer.”

To be entirely honest, this is not even close to the story O’Neal has told everyone. The story that has dominated public spaces until now.

Assessing O’Neal’s ‘a-lady-approached-me’ lie

While on the Full Send Podcast in 2021, Shaquille O’Neal made headlines with his unbelievable claim. Diesel alleged that he had walked away from a $40 million Reebok deal after a woman had approached him and questioned him over the overpriced sneakers.

Shaq, apparently shaken up by her strong words had evaluated his ways and dropped the deal. He then went on to sign with Walmart to create affordable sneakers that every kid could wear proudly.

The issue with O’Neal’s story is the contradictions provided by the reports from 1998 and Jeff Pearlman’s account. Though it is difficult to disprove Shaq’s story, it seems more plausible that he just wasn’t as good of a promoter as Reebok had expected. Do you think Shaquille O’Neal lied about his deal?

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