Today to have superstar Shaquille O’ Neal on your team is worth a whopping $252 million dollars. He earns $80 thousand dollars a day, putting him at the top of the celebrity “A” list.
It is for this reason that companies are constantly competing for the opportunity to have O’Neal endorse their products. Ling-Ning Co. has made it into O’Neal’s sights.
Shaquille O’Neal has just been signed to a 5-year contract with Li-Ning Co., the second –biggest footwear company in the world.
With this new contract, along with his 24 hair fitness, icy hot, vitamin water and U.S. Reebok shoe endorsement deals, Shaq’s net worth is estimated to increase another $12 million dollars.
In 2007 alone, the NBA’s star player racked up to $15 million dollars in endorsements, only to have Kobe Bryant beat his cash amount by less than a hair.
Shaquille O’Neal first started collecting endorsements fresh out of college when he signed with Reebok, Pepsi, Spaulding and Scoreboard all at once.
He became an instant favorite with his selling savvy and was paid a high amount of $40 million dollars for his first season with the NBA.
Even with all the money he makes, it seems it is not all that matters to him. Last month at a press conference, Shaq heatedly exclaimed, “I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.”
When asked why he felt this way, O’Neal evaded giving a straight answer. He would only say that, “I don't believe that I personally have been changed by the money. The bad thing is people assume you've changed because now you have money… But, hey I did everything the right way and earned my spot in this game, nothing was given to me.”
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