Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest basketball players that has ever played the sport. The 7ft 1″ big man dominated the game and forced opponents to change their game plan every time they faced him. Before he was out dominating on NBA floors, Shaq was already making big moves. Inspired by Michael Jordan and his Air Jordans, Shaq set out to find the perfect sneaker deal for himself. This quest led him to the usual suspects, Nike, Reebok, and more.
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Getting a sneaker deal is a big moment in any athlete’s life. The case was no different for Shaquille O’Neal. However, he didn’t just want any regular sneaker deal. He wanted one that put his name out there in the market. Reebok was offering him that, yet Shaq still went to the meeting in the Nike HQ. According to the big man, he had two big reasons behind the same.
Why did Shaquille O’Neal wear all Reebok gear at the meeting with Nike?
Recently, Shaquille O’Neal was on the Rich Eisen Show, where he talked about Ja Morant, Victor Wembanyama, and more. Towards the end of the show, they played a segment called Celebrity True or False. The host asked Shaq whether the story about him wearing Reebok gear, head-to-toe, for a meeting at the Nike HQ is true or false. Shaq replied and said,
“True. It was because I didn’t want a Nike deal. They had told me before they were interested in me, but you were not going to get your own shoe. We had already left Reebok and they had told me they’d give me my own shoe and what I want. I wanted to go in there and possibly have them say ‘Why are you wearing Reebok stuff?’
‘Oh because they gon give me my own shoe’ and then I wanted them to say, ‘Oh we’ll give you your own shoe'”
This was the first reason. Shaquille O’Neal wanted a line of shoes with his own name on them, just like Michael Jordan does. Sadly, that did not come to fruition at Nike. However, he also had another motive behind the Nike meeting.
Back in 2021, Shaq revealed to Complex that even though he knew he was going with Reebok, he took that second meeting with Nike(the one where he wore the Reebok gear) to drive the price higher. Reebok liked his move and they ended up giving him $1 Million extra. That’s how Shaq’s 5-year, $15 Million deal with Reebok came to fruition.
Why did Shaq leave Reebok?
Shaquille O’Neal, even though he appears to be all big and cold, is a softy at heart. The story of why he left Reebok is the perfect example of the same. He narrated it on the Full Send Podcast. Back when he was on a 5-year, $40 Million deal with Reebok, the Big Diesel was once approached by an lady, who complained to him about high shoe prices.
“I’m leaving the arena one day and this lady is ripping me a new one. You m————, you’re charging these babies all this money for the shoes.’ I had like $2,000 in my pocket and I was like, ‘Ma’am. I don’t make the prices. Here you go.’”
Shaq went home, thought about it, and cut ties with Reebok. He then collaborated with Walmart to come up with shoes that cost between $15-$30.
