Shaquille O’Neal was bestowed with a $17.4 million rookie contract as a teenager after having gone through an incredibly modest upbringing. So, it’s safe to say that he would splurge on a few luxuries in his youth that he’d later go on to admit were mistakes. One such mistake involved his fascination with cars.
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The ‘Big Aristotle’ is nicknamed “big” for a reason. Well, he’s big. Standing at 7-foot-1, and weighing in at anywhere between 325-375lbs depending on his workout regimen, Shaq is used to having cars that provide him with enough space to operate. Let’s not forget his 7’7” wingspan either when it comes to his decision-making for cars.
However, like most millionaires, Shaq doesn’t want to limit himself merely to SUVs and MUVs. He wants the feel of a Ferrari or a Corvette. So, to indulge in these luxuries, he employed the help of several automotive customizers to stretch out and expand these sports cars to fit him inside.
Of course, while the idea sounds simple with a slight stroke of genius, the sheer financial power required to get this done was enough to make the Lakers legend regret it all. On the ‘Tommy Talks’ YouTube channel, O’Neal admits he shouldn’t have dropped $700k on a stretched out Ferrari.
“Let’s go to the stupidest mistakes. Bought a $200,000 Ferrari. Spent $200,000 to stretch it, and another $100,000 on stereo equipment. So, I spent about $700,000 on a car that I rarely drive.”
Funnily enough, his breakdown of that car involves only $500k worth of improvements so that would mean he put in another $200k just for the heck of it. It wasn’t just the money that he lost that makes this ‘dumb’. It’s the fact that the space still wasn’t enough.
“I bought a real Ferrari. Then I bought a salvaged Ferrari. We cut the real one in half, used pieces of the salvaged one to stretch it. I still didn’t fit,” said Shaq on his Instagram page.
Despite all of this, Shaq doesn’t seem to be turned off by the idea of stretching out cars. Most recently, he did the same for his Z06 Corvette with the help of Effortless Motors. They applied a 20-inch stretch to the car which has helped Shaq fit into the ride.
Of course, it isn’t just cars that Shaq regrets. While speaking further with Tommy, he said, “When I was young, I used to invest in things for monetary purposes and failed a lot.”
It’s quite difficult to judge the 4x champ however as in spite of all the setbacks, he’s managed to rake up a $500 million net worth. So perhaps instead of regrets, these are merely moments of reflection and funny anecdotes to spew out during interviews and podcasts for entertainment purposes.
