Shaquille O’Neal turned down a $40 million Reebok deal after a mother complained about costly shoes

ByHassan Khan August 17, 20224 months ago

Shaquille O Neal turned down Reebok deal

In 1998, then-Magic star Shaquille O’Neal offered a mother $2,000 after she complained about expensive shoes.

Shaquille O’Neal is a generational talent that the league was lucky to have witnessed. For nearly two decades, O’Neal put his massive 7-foot, 325-pound frame to extremely good use and dominated the paint like we’ve never seen anyone do before or since.

As one of the most talented big men the game has ever seen, Shaq has managed to amass quite an illustrious resume. The Lakers legend’s staggeringly long list of accomplishments includes: 15 All-Star appearances, 14 All-NBA selections, the 1993 ROY, the 2000 MVP, 4 championships and 3 Finals MVPs.

During his playing days, “The Big Aristotle” managed to earn more than $286 million. Today, the Hall of Famer has a staggering net worth of over $400 million. As smart a businessman as he is, The Diesel doesn’t always have money as his priority.

This time, O’Neal turned down a lucrative $40 million deal with Reebok after hearing a mother complain about her expensive shoes.

Read More: NBA News, Highlights and Trade

Shaquille O’Neal founded his own shoe brand

A year ago, during an appearance on the Full Send Podcast, the former two-time scoring title winner recalled a memorable interaction he had with a mother in 1998. Walking out of the Orlando Magic stadium, she was complaining to Shaq about the high prices of the shoes. .

Feeling guilty, the then young Magic offered the lady all the money she had in her wallet.

“I’m leaving the arena one day and this lady is getting me a new one,” O’Neal said on the Full Send Podcast. “‘You m————, are charging these babies all this money for shoes. I had like $2,000 in my pocket and I said, ‘Mrs. I don’t make the prices. Here you have.'”

From that day on, Shaq ended up breaking ties with Reebok and collaborating with Walmart to create his own shoes and sell them for between $15 and $30.

“I thought about it,” O’Neal said. “I was like, ‘You know what? She is right’. So that day I cut ties with Reebok and started my own brand.

”

“I told him, ‘Keep the money. This is not OK. … I will still wear the shoes that I wear during the season, but I will look to do my own thing. … The money you owe me, keep it’. So, I started the Shaq brand, went to my favorite store, Walmart, and we made a deal.

I’ve been to every store and my selling price for the shoes was $29 to $19, and since then we’ve sold over 400 million pairs. 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.”

Back in 2016, @SHAQ’s “Wal-Mart” shoes had sold over 120 million pairs. Today, he’s sold up to 350 million! 👏 pic.twitter.com/3D7MebJAit

— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) June 6, 2021