Only judicial approval stands between Shaquille O’Neal and the two-year-old legal drama. Shaq kept silent through most of it while the legal team handled the proceedings. This week, O’Neal’s camp agreed to pay the complainants a settlement worth $11 million for those hurt in the Astral situation. The courts have to approve the settlement in order to dismiss the case against the NBA legend.

Shaq went from being reluctant about all things tech to promoting crypto until 2022. This lawsuit has become a deterrent for him again. But how did it come this far?

Shaq backtracked on Crypto once

Shaquille O’Neal has diverse business interests, including investing in the early incarnation of Google. But the tech business didn’t attract him until fairly recently. He admitted crypto and NFT businesses reached out to him for endorsement deals often. He even said on CNBC, “So I will probably stay away from it [Crypto] until I get a full understanding of what it is.”

So it was a surprising twist he was promoting FTX and Astral NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). Within months of saying he’s not interested, Shaq was doing a commercial promoting it in 2021. “I’m excited to be partnering with FTX to help make crypto accessible to everyone,” O’Neal said in the June commercial. “I’m all in. Are you?” He changed his (then) Twitter display name to ‘SHAQ.ETH’ and ‘SHAQ.SOL’ to promote NFT collections underpinned by the Ethereum and Solana cryptocurrency platforms.

Astrals launched in 2022 and got Shaq on its endorsement campaigns too. But as quickly as O’Neal got into the NFT game, it was quick to fall apart.

When it all spiraled for Shaquille O’Neal

In the entire NFT collapse, Shaq was the face of assurance for investors. He reportedly sent the Wolf of Wall Street meme to Astrals investors on Discord that said “I’m not f***ing leaving.” His tune immediately changed when FTX and Astrals fell beyond repair.

“I have nothing to hide. If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront saying, ‘Hey.’ But I was just a paid spokesperson,” he stated after the FTX issue in a December interview, distancing himself. Soon, according to 2023 reports, the FTX collapse opened the gates for crypto securities litigation against Astrals. The NFT collection was termed “unregistered securities” which doomed its investors. Shaq would also stop promoting.

He rarely commented about Astrals. However, Law.com reported in September 2023 that O’Neal’s team presented his case in court. “Astrals were intended for and marketed to gamers, not investors,” according to Shaq’s camp. But the plaintiffs suing Astrals believed otherwise. The celebrities attached to the NFTs were also named in the lawsuit. There were reportedly multiple attempts made to serve Shaq with one.

Ultimately, while covering the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals on Inside the NBA at (ironically) the former FTX Center, now renamed to Kaseya Center in Miami, he was served with a class action lawsuit for his role in the Astrals NFT project as per reports. The case was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division.

Reprieve follows for Shaq in ongoing lawsuit

When the 4x NBA champ was dragged into the lawsuit, his legal team did the talking. Shaq no longer makes a peep about crypto and NFTs even if to denounce it. The lawsuit alleged that Shaq was a “control person” who had decision-making power at Astral. His legal team denied it.

In August 2024, the court dismissed the claim that Shaq had a say in Astral’s dealings. He was identified as a “seller” who solicited investments. While it was a minor win for Shaq’s camp, the big man himself was served a summon to present a defense as an endorser. His legal team had until September 12 to respond but what happened about it is not known.

Things took another turn in November 2024. Adam Moskowitz, on behalf of his clients suing Astrals, confirmed that Shaquille O’Neal agreed to set up a class action settlement fund. The fund is worth $11 million. Once approved by a judge, the case against Shaq will be dismissed and he can close this chapter. He’s also close to resolving the FTX lawsuit but details about it remain unclear.

This development only pertains to Shaq. No word on whether it has any bearing on the lawsuits against others connected to Astrals.

The investors regardless praised Shaq for doing right by those financially injured in the NFTs. “So much credit goes to Shaq personally for wanting to help all of the other victims, and to our federal judges,” Moskowitz said, as per Law.com. All that’s left is for the settlement to go through.