We all know who Shaq is. Even if we aren’t basketball fans, we’ve all heard of his name at some point or another.
Shaq is the commonly used nickname for Shaquille O’Neal, a former professional basketball player(now retired) and current face for…apparently, any piece of advertisement he can get his face on.
We’ve all seen this happening. Appearing with Charles Barkely on TNT, serving as the post-crisis face of Papa John’s pizza, cheering on TV for the Carnival Cruise Line. Advertising for Epson Printers, air fryers, Icy Hot, various car insurance companies, cereal, and his very own Shaqtoberfest.
Shaq was apparently always a bit of a businessman, confirmed by himself as stated during a 2013 interview that “I’ve always been a businessman who is athletic.”
And boy is he a businessman. After all, no other retired sports player has managed to create a multimillion-dollar, airwave-dominating, viral empire quite like Shaquille O’Neal.
“I think his brand is stronger now than it has ever been,” said Natasha Brison, an associate professor at Texas A&M who specializes in athlete branding. “He’s literally reshaped what it means to be a retired athlete.”
Shaq is a big believer in the unstoppable power and influence of advertising/franchising, and over time, has owned 40 24-Hour Fitness gyms, 155 Five Guys restaurants, at least one Krispy Kreme doughnut shop, 17 Auntie Anne’s pretzel stands and nine Papa John’s pizza places, appeared in commercials for Icy Hot, the General Insurance, Buick, Frosted Flakes, Novex Biotech, Reebok, Google, Pepsi, Ring, Gold Bond, JCPenney, PointsBet sports betting and Tonka. He’s also partnered with Zales, Macy’s, and AriZona Beverages to put out his own Shaqbranded lines of products. Big Chicken, Shaq’s own fast-food chain, will soon have 18 more locations around the country, and two more on Carnival Cruises.
He’s also a DJ, which apparently doesn’t make too much money.
All of his business holdings, which include the second-largest independent stakeholder in Authentic Brands Group, have prompted his team to host a “Shaq Summit,” for several years to get representatives from all of his brands and partnerships together in one room and plan out their campaigns.
It’s funny to think that when he was still in his basketball career, he had relied on endorsement deals with companies like Reebok, Taco Bell and Pepsi to supplement his NBA salary. Those deals allowed his annual income to become $25 million dollars in the late 1990s. But he wanted more. In the ‘90s, O’Neal invested in Google, now known as Alphabet.
“My only regret is that I would have bought more,” he says.
But he hasn’t exactly gotten lucky every single time. He’s made deals with Freeinternet.com and co-founded Dunk.net, both of which were obliterated during the dot com bust.
In recent times, O’Neal received a class-action lawsuit on behalf of former clients of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The lawsuit alleges that O’Neal, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and other celebrity endorsers did not properly evaluate the business they publicly backed and wrongly made FTX seem like a good investment to customers. On the otherhand, O’Neal claims that he was “just a paid spokesperson for a commercial.”
People know I’m very, very honest,” he told the network. “I have nothing to hide. If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront saying, ‘Hey.’”
Shaq is generally well-liked in the athlete community. His fun-loving personality, willingness to poke fun at himself and apparent sincerity go a long way in making consumers feel that they know him. He also tends to not get wrapped up in controversies and is known to be largely apolitical, appearing comfortable at who he is and where he is in life. This makes him very appealing to companies.
O’Neal also tends to make random acts of charity, which further supports his reputation. He once paid the dinner bill of everybody in a New York City restaurant, including the wait staff. Later that year, he also bought a washing machine and a television for a couple at Dallas Best Buy, and also covered funeral costs, donated $50,000 to the family of a mass shooting victim and provided a house for the family of a child who was paralyzed after being shot.
“Everybody loves Shaquille,” said Ken Gunsberger, a managing director and private wealth advisor at UBS who works with athletes, artists and other high-net-worth individuals.
“And I think that’s one of the things that makes him so special in his business life.”
“I think his brand is stronger now than it has ever been,” said Natasha Brison, an associate professor at Texas A&M who specializes in athlete branding. “He’s literally reshaped what it means to be a retired athlete.”
So there it is! The perfect retired athlete with an amazing reputation, a lovely personality, and perfect for companies to hire as a spokesperson, but that means it raises another question:
Could there be another Shaq?
There are some possibilities. Serena Williams founded a venture capital fund that invests in underrepresented founders and women and counts companies such as MasterClass and Impossible Foods as part of her portfolio. She has also appeared in ads for migraine medication.
LeBron James is also a possible contender. He founded a production company, wrote a children’s book(The Boy Who Became King), opened and funded a public school in Ohio, and appeared in the movie “Space Jam 2.” He also started a book club featuring diverse authors, founded a production company and invests in companies ranging from home fitness firm Tonal to online learning startup Guild Education.
Shaq is the commonly used nickname for Shaquille O’Neal, a former professional basketball player(now retired) and current face for…apparently, any piece of advertisement he can get his face on.
We’ve all seen this happening. Appearing with Charles Barkely on TNT, serving as the post-crisis face of Papa John’s pizza, cheering on TV for the Carnival Cruise Line. Advertising for Epson Printers, air fryers, Icy Hot, various car insurance companies, cereal, and his very own Shaqtoberfest.
Shaq was apparently always a bit of a businessman, confirmed by himself as stated during a 2013 interview that “I’ve always been a businessman who is athletic.”
And boy is he a businessman. After all, no other retired sports player has managed to create a multimillion-dollar, airwave-dominating, viral empire quite like Shaquille O’Neal.
“I think his brand is stronger now than it has ever been,” said Natasha Brison, an associate professor at Texas A&M who specializes in athlete branding. “He’s literally reshaped what it means to be a retired athlete.”
Shaq is a big believer in the unstoppable power and influence of advertising/franchising, and over time, has owned 40 24-Hour Fitness gyms, 155 Five Guys restaurants, at least one Krispy Kreme doughnut shop, 17 Auntie Anne’s pretzel stands and nine Papa John’s pizza places, appeared in commercials for Icy Hot, the General Insurance, Buick, Frosted Flakes, Novex Biotech, Reebok, Google, Pepsi, Ring, Gold Bond, JCPenney, PointsBet sports betting and Tonka. He’s also partnered with Zales, Macy’s, and AriZona Beverages to put out his own Shaqbranded lines of products. Big Chicken, Shaq’s own fast-food chain, will soon have 18 more locations around the country, and two more on Carnival Cruises.
He’s also a DJ, which apparently doesn’t make too much money.
All of his business holdings, which include the second-largest independent stakeholder in Authentic Brands Group, have prompted his team to host a “Shaq Summit,” for several years to get representatives from all of his brands and partnerships together in one room and plan out their campaigns.
It’s funny to think that when he was still in his basketball career, he had relied on endorsement deals with companies like Reebok, Taco Bell and Pepsi to supplement his NBA salary. Those deals allowed his annual income to become $25 million dollars in the late 1990s. But he wanted more. In the ‘90s, O’Neal invested in Google, now known as Alphabet.
“My only regret is that I would have bought more,” he says.
But he hasn’t exactly gotten lucky every single time. He’s made deals with Freeinternet.com and co-founded Dunk.net, both of which were obliterated during the dot com bust.
In recent times, O’Neal received a class-action lawsuit on behalf of former clients of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The lawsuit alleges that O’Neal, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and other celebrity endorsers did not properly evaluate the business they publicly backed and wrongly made FTX seem like a good investment to customers. On the otherhand, O’Neal claims that he was “just a paid spokesperson for a commercial.”
People know I’m very, very honest,” he told the network. “I have nothing to hide. If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront saying, ‘Hey.’”
Shaq is generally well-liked in the athlete community. His fun-loving personality, willingness to poke fun at himself and apparent sincerity go a long way in making consumers feel that they know him. He also tends to not get wrapped up in controversies and is known to be largely apolitical, appearing comfortable at who he is and where he is in life. This makes him very appealing to companies.
O’Neal also tends to make random acts of charity, which further supports his reputation. He once paid the dinner bill of everybody in a New York City restaurant, including the wait staff. Later that year, he also bought a washing machine and a television for a couple at Dallas Best Buy, and also covered funeral costs, donated $50,000 to the family of a mass shooting victim and provided a house for the family of a child who was paralyzed after being shot.
“Everybody loves Shaquille,” said Ken Gunsberger, a managing director and private wealth advisor at UBS who works with athletes, artists and other high-net-worth individuals.
“And I think that’s one of the things that makes him so special in his business life.”
“I think his brand is stronger now than it has ever been,” said Natasha Brison, an associate professor at Texas A&M who specializes in athlete branding. “He’s literally reshaped what it means to be a retired athlete.”
So there it is! The perfect retired athlete with an amazing reputation, a lovely personality, and perfect for companies to hire as a spokesperson, but that means it raises another question:
Could there be another Shaq?
There are some possibilities. Serena Williams founded a venture capital fund that invests in underrepresented founders and women and counts companies such as MasterClass and Impossible Foods as part of her portfolio. She has also appeared in ads for migraine medication.
LeBron James is also a possible contender. He founded a production company, wrote a children’s book(The Boy Who Became King), opened and funded a public school in Ohio, and appeared in the movie “Space Jam 2.” He also started a book club featuring diverse authors, founded a production company and invests in companies ranging from home fitness firm Tonal to online learning startup Guild Education.
