Shaquille O’Neal shared his “best” business story on the “Full Send” Podcast, telling the hosts about when he walked away from a Reebok sneaker deal worth 40 million dollars.
Shaq recalled the time he cut ties with the brand he had repped throughout his basketball career after “a lady ripped me a new a-hole while leaving the arena one day.”
O’Neal said the woman let him have it and called him a “motherf–ker” for charging young kids so much money for sneakers.
“I had $2,000 in my pocket. I said, ‘Lady, I don’t make the prices. Here you go, and she smacked the money out of my hand, [and said], ‘Why don’t you motherf–kers make a shoe that’s affordable?’”
The confrontation was a wake-up call for O’Neal, who decided to turn down his $40 million, 5-year deal with Reebok.
“I was like, ‘You know what, she’s right.’ So that day, I cut ties with Reebok and started my own brand,” Shaq revealed. “I said keep the money… this ain’t right. I’ll still wear the shoes I wear during the season, but I’ll be looking to do my own thing. So, I started the Shaq brand.”
Check it out the 42-minute mark.
