Shaquille O'Neal: "I never had a real job"

Shaquille O’Neal has built a business empire that goes far beyond his successes on the basketball court. The former NBA player has earned over 100 million dollars from selling part of the rights to his name, has starred in advertising campaigns of all kinds, and owns the logo that appears on hundreds of millions of sneakers. However, despite his business career, he claims that he has never had a conventional job.

“I have a lot of respect for people like you, who have to do real jobs. I’ve never had a real job,” O’Neal said in an interview with O’Neal during the Brand Innovators Marketing Leadership Summit, held at Paramount's headquarters in New York.

The former player admitted that this circumstance even surprised him in his family life. “There was a time in my life when my son asked me to help him complete a resume. I had no idea what I was doing because I never completed a resume,” he explained.

O’Neal participated in the meeting alongside Leonard Armato, the agent who signed him after his college career at Louisiana State University. Both attended to promote Maximize: 7 Keys to Unlock Greatness in You, Armato's new book, which will be published in November by Sports Business Journal Publishing, a division of Amplify Publishing Group. The former player has written the preface for the book.

The strategy that turned his name into a million-dollar brand

The book outlines the business strategy that O'Neal and Armato designed in 1992: the former player would retain ownership of his name and logo, while other companies would pay to use them in their products and advertising campaigns.

“He owned his own brand, and then we had to find companies that helped build value in his brand through creative marketing,” Armato explained to Fortune. The agent summarized the approach with the concept OPM, short for Other People's Money — the money of other people — which involves developing a brand using the financial resources of third parties.

In his early years as a professional, O'Neal had little business knowledge. As he explained, hiring Armato was crucial for learning to manage his career off the court.

“When I left college, as a guy without a degree or business experience, I was lucky to hire someone warm, attentive, and educational,” he recalled. “He taught me everything there is to know about business.”

The former player went so far as to compare Armato to ChatGPT. “He was my version of ChatGPT. My favorite prompt in ChatGPT is: explain it to me as if I were a fifth grader. He broke it down into terms I could understand,” he stated.

The logo that Nike rejected and ended up on hundreds of millions of sneakers

One of the first lessons O'Neal received was the importance of having his own logo. Armato used Michael Jordan's logo, designed and owned by Nike, as a reference to convince the center that he needed to maintain control of his commercial identity.

“He told me, ‘You need a logo.’ And I said, ‘Why do I need a logo?’ He showed me Michael Jordan's logo, and I said, ‘Well, if I ever had a logo, I want it to be like that,’” O'Neal recounted.

His agent presented several scenarios to explain the advantages of retaining ownership of the symbol, especially in case they decided to part ways with a company.

The decision proved crucial when O'Neal turned down an offer from Nike and signed with Reebok. The advertising agency for the latter designed the Dunkman logo, which the player retained ownership of and licensed to the company.

However, Reebok withdrew its advertising support after two years. As Armato wrote in the book, the decision was based on the theory that big men did not sell shoes. O'Neal recalled that a marketing professor at university had conveyed a similar idea to him.

The Reebok brand would also become an expensive operation for Adidas, which sold it in 2021. But O'Neal was able to take his logo with him because he had never ceased to be its owner. Since then, the Dunkman has appeared on over 400 million pairs of affordable shoes, as the former player himself explains in the book's prologue.

In 2015, Authentic Brands Group acquired the rights to manage the O’Neal name for products and advertising campaigns. Although the economic terms were not made public at the time, Armato claims that the former player sold part of his intellectual property for more than 100 million dollars.

His business activity is not limited to advertisements. O’Neal has also invested in companies he promotes, including a Krispy Kreme store in Atlanta.

Why he declined to appear on Wheaties boxes

Despite his extensive list of advertising deals, O’Neal insists he has never accepted a collaboration solely for the money it could bring him. For him, it is essential to believe in the products he promotes.

“I never accepted a deal just because it was of high monetary value. If I don’t believe in your product, I’m not doing it,” he explained to Fortune.

As an example, he recalled the numerous occasions when Wheaties offered him money to appear on their boxes. The former player rejected the proposals because he had never consumed that cereal. He even asked the company to send him products from Kellogg's, like Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops.

His criterion is to partner with brands related to his own experiences. He explained this when talking about The General, an automobile insurance company with which he has a business relationship.

“I’m with The General for one reason. When I was in college and bought my first car, I couldn’t afford conventional insurance. The General was the only one that gave me insurance,” he recalled.

From that experience, he decided to contact the company to propose a collaboration. "While watching The Maury Povich Show every day and listening to that crazy song, I told my people: call The General and see if they want to do it because my brand revolves around accessibility. I'm not trying to empty people's bank accounts," he explained.

O’Neal is aware that his high number of deals can generate criticism, but insists that he only works with companies he trusts.

He also highlighted his relationship with Icy Hot, with which he has renewed his contract 19 times. According to him, that continuity stems from a lesson from Armato, who advised him to prioritize the duration of agreements over immediate profits.

"I remember once we were closing a deal and I was very focused on the money. He said: 'No, never focus on the money. Let's focus on the renewals,'" he recounted.

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His refusal to flaunt wealth on social media

O’Neal believes one of the biggest changes since his years as a player has been learning to use social media. For a long time, he avoided Twitter because he didn't believe in its usefulness, until he changed his mind in Phoenix.

On that occasion, he posted an offer of five tickets to a game against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. Just 30 seconds later, he saw a car stop in the street, which made him understand the reach of the platform.

Since then, he decided to use it for a specific purpose and avoid it becoming a showcase of his wealth.

“I hate wealthy athletes who flaunt their wealth on social media. It bothers me, it disgusts me,” he admitted. His strategy is to dedicate 60% of his posts to making people laugh, 30% to inspiring them, and 10% to promoting activities he participates in.

Armato also had to step in to control the former player's spending during his early years as a professional. O’Neal recalled that he bought expensive cars when he was still young, and his agent forced him to return them.

“I think I deserve a lot of credit for listening,” added the now NBA commentator.

The blend of Terminator and Bambi that captivated brands

In his book, Armato describes the image O’Neal projected to sponsors as a combination of Terminator and Bambi: an imposing and dominant figure on the court, but approachable and nice off it.

The former player believes that description reflects his personality well. “In my line of work, I try to eliminate all threats, which are everyone. But in real life, I’m not like that, and I had to show it,” he explained to Fortune.

“In real life, I’m a good guy. I respect everyone. It doesn’t matter how much you earn. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. It’s ‘yes, sir’ and ‘yes, ma’am’ for everyone,” he added.

Armato recalled that when O'Neal began to gain fame, he was performing spectacular actions that no one had seen before, such as breaking boards and knocking down basket supports in front of television cameras. For that reason, he considered it necessary to also show his kinder side.

One of Pepsi's campaigns helped convey that image through an advertisement in which he shared the spotlight with a child. The goal was to demonstrate that, in addition to strength and power, O'Neal had emotional intelligence. According to Armato, that combination helped the public connect with him.

During the summit, the former player also recalled how his agent intervened in a meeting with an image advisor to defend that the public image should correspond with the athlete's real personality.

“Leonard Armato stopped the guy in the middle of the meeting and said, ‘You know what? For this man, image is reality.’ What we meant to say was that you have to be yourself,” O'Neal recalled. “You always have to be your true and authentic self.”

Armato was also responsible for one of the most well-known nicknames of the former player. Before O'Neal received the MVP award, they both talked about Aristotle's phrase that states excellence is a habit.

“He said, ‘You have to give a speech.’ I said, ‘I don’t know what to say.’ He started talking about Aristotle. I told him, ‘Repeat that,’ I wrote it down, and I just recited it,” O'Neal recalled. “And from that day on, I was known as the Great Aristotle.”

The professional relationship also extended to music. O’Neal explained that he told Armato he wanted to record a rap album and that his agent secured a $10 million contract for three albums.

A breakup marked by disagreements

Despite the commercial successes they achieved together, the relationship between O’Neal and Armato ended after several discussions about advertising deals and the former player's intention to use profanity in his rap albums.

In the chapter of his book dedicated to that failure, Armato recounts that he called O’Neal up to 20 times from a hotel in Orlando without getting a response. He also acknowledges that his own ego contributed to the deterioration of the relationship.

According to his account, O’Neal was generous during the separation and neither of them confronted each other over financial issues.

Now, both are close again. When asked what advice he would give to young athletes, many of whom sign seven- and eight-figure sponsorship deals while still in college thanks to NIL rules, O’Neal made it clear that he does not intend to decide for them.

“I would never tell a person what to do or who to sign with,” he stated. “I just know that if I don’t believe in your product, I can’t promote it to the people. That’s not me.”

Former Louisiana State University gymnast Livvy Dunne, one of the highest-earning college athletes under NIL rules, has also advocated for athletes to own the rights to their names.

During the meeting, O'Neal acknowledged that the differences with Armato were numerous, but he highlighted the value of the lessons he received from him.

“We had many difficult conversations, but 70% of the time he won, and he was always right because he is smarter than I am, especially in this business,” he said.

Shaq continues to seek new business deals

The former player concluded his remarks with an invitation directed at the marketing executives present in the room. Despite his extensive advertising career and the income generated by his brand, O'Neal made it clear that he remains willing to collaborate with new companies.

“If you haven't hired me for your company yet, I'm available,” he joked. “I still don’t have enough commercials on TV. So, do you want to do business with me? I'm available.”

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