A Threat That Once Drove Shaquille O’Neal Into Building $400 Million Empire Now Diminished, NBA Veteran Explains

The NBA in monetary terms has changed a lot over the years. The financial upgrade of the league has been spoken about extensively. However, this was not the case in the NBA a decade ago. Even after retirement, most of the athletes had to start an alternate career to keep themselves financially strong. Shaquille O’Neal was one of them, and fear was what drove him to achieve what he has today. But that threat has reduced considerably and a deep analysis from JJ Redick shows how an NBA player can never go broke in the modern era.

By comparing the contracts of former Toronto Raptors great Vince Carter and Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown, Redick showcased how the NBA has kept the sky as the limit when it comes to improving financially. 

Redick was asked if NBA players can ever go broke. He confirmed, “They don’t anymore.” The best example he came up with was the NBA contract, where the rookie deal turns into a max contract. Redick shared, “There were a few guys that were on their rookie deals, that went and signed a max contract, and it was 4-years, $58(million). Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, when they signed max contracts, 4 years, $64(million). Jaylen Brown just signed a max contract, 5-years, $304 million. So there’s a difference.”

Redick believes that athletes need not fear getting broke anymore. Could you imagine someone telling a young Shaquille O’Neal that?

The Los Angeles Lakers legend was arguably the best in the league back then. Was all the money that he made in the NBA enough for him after retirement? He believes not. In fact, the fear of losing things made Shaq work harder and smarter after his career came to an end in the NBA. 

Shaquille O’Neal did not want to return the gifts that he gave to his family

Today, Shaq has a net worth of over $400 million. There are a lot of key business investments he has made. The Big Chicken franchise, the Krispy Kreme Donut, the president of Reebok’s basketball division, etc. However, he started all of this, only to save the assets he already had. A study in 2009 revealed that 65% of NBA players end up getting broke after retirement. But Shaq was not one of them.

“Because if I do that, the big house that I bought my mother, she loses it. And I can’t have that,” he said in an interview back in 2022. This pushed Shaq to learn all the financial aspects. 

He added, “So I had to learn about financial literacy. I had to take what I learned from basketball and apply the teamwork structure to my business.” With these notable steps, Shaq saved himself from going bankrupt. However, Redick believes that modern NBA players need not worry about this at all. Do you agree with this take from the former NBA veteran? 

Read more: Shaquille O’Neal Issues a Harsh Reality Check on Doc Rivers’ Latest Honor: “He Didn’t Deserve That”