Shaquille O'Neal has been one of the most business-savvy athletes of all time, parlaying several endorsement deals into brand equity contracts with multiple companies. O'Neal has opened restaurants, supported businesses and more, but a rare misstep is going to cost him nearly $2 million.
The four-time NBA champion has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle claims in a suit regarding the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. O'Neal was initially served as part of the class-action lawsuit back in 2023, after repeated attempts to do so outside the TNT offices in Atlanta where he works.
Other notable athletes named in the lawsuit included Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and David Ortiz – all of whom could still be responsible for billions in damages.
O'Neal and his legal team agreed to the settlement back in April, but the terms – including his payment – were finalized through court documents this week.
The payment could be split among more than a million people in the class-action suit, and after lawyer fees are taken into consideration, it could result in as little as $2 per person.
Despite the low relative payment to get out of the situation, O'Neal is still going to lose out. He was paid roughly $750,000 to promote FTX, and will now pay out more than $1 million in damages after the company's collapse.
Gisele Bundchen, Shohei Ohtani, Udonis Haslem, Naomi Osaka, comedian Larry David and Major League Baseball are all included in the case, which was initially filed in late 2022.
Adam Moskowitz, an attorney for the FTX investors, tells Front Office Sports that the “other celebrities wouldn’t even sit down with us,” a decision that could prove costly.
Taking the case to court is likely more trouble than it's worth for the affected celebrities, who have net worths in the multiples of millions.
Ortiz received almost $271,000 to promote the service, while Osaka was paid over $308,000. Payments to Brady and Curry were reportedly in the multi-million range, which suggests they could be set to pay massively if they see things out in court.
After FTX and its founder Sam Bankman went down due to widespread fraud, the complaint against the company and its celebrity investors could result in “tens of billions of dollars” in damages once things are said and done.
Shaquille O'Neal Agrees To Pay $1.8 Million Settlement first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 11, 2025
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