$400 Million Worth Shaquille O’Neal Could Have Owned a Shoe Factory in China But Trusted a $2.5 Billion Company to Do the Job For Him

Shaquille O’Neal and his reebok deal is one of the most overlooked sneaker signings in the NBA. It is reported that the deal was upwards of $40 million. The deal spanned over five years, after which Shaq and Reebok parted ways.

Shaq chose to pair up with Li-Ning to create his ‘Dunk-Man’ shoe brand, commonly known as the ‘Shaq Brand.’ He set out to create an affordable line of basketball shoes after he was called out for making expensive sneakers.

In his ‘The Big Podcast,’ he talks about his outlook on doing business and joint ventures. Shaq got his business ideas from a book Magic Johnson recommended to him called ‘Business for Dummies.’ According to Shaq, it was Reebok who put him on the map. He says that there are times collaborations help elevate a business. In the episode ‘The Big Chair Breaker,’ he talks about his deal with the $2.5 million brand.

The Reebok collaboration with Shaquille O’Neal was one of the most iconic partnerships of his era. He tells the podcast hosts that he could have partnered with a factory in China, but he chose Reebok instead. That deal was groundbreaking for Reebok as Shaquille O’Neal. When the deal ended, Reebok was able to restructure it to keep the Shaq line alive as Shaq moved on to the Dunkman venture.

In 2001, O’Neal created a second brand, the Dunkman. Their collaboration was with Payless. The motive was to create affordable sneakers, unlike the Reebok line, which was priced upwards of $180.

Shaquille O’Neal and the Reebok venture

O’Neal could have partnered with a factory in China to create his brand, but he went with Reebok because of their expertise. He believed that they had been in the business for some time and knew better.

On the podcast, Shaq said, “You have to hire people that are smarter than you. I can go set up a factory in China and these other places, but it would not be success full.”

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Shaquille O’Neal has amassed over $400 million, a lot of which came from his various sneaker partnerships.

O’Neal ends his deal with Reebok

Los Angeles star Shaquille O’Neal cut ties with Reebok after a woman in a store called him out for making sneakers a luxury and overpriced.

Shaq said, “I went to my favorite store, Walmart, and we did a deal. I was in all stores, and my price point for the shoes was $29 to $19. And since then, we have sold over 400 million pairs. Because I realize with kids, right? It’s not that kids don’t want to wear $20 shoes; they don’t want to wear shoes that look like they cost $20.”

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Shaquille O’Neal has partnered with a lot of brands over the years. Most recently, he was in the news for, interestingly, trying to buy Reebok!