Shaquille O’Neal may be giving up his NBA team ownership now, but he’s gaining something else in return with his new endorsement deal.
According to Clutch Points, the former Los Angeles Lakers player has inked a new deal to become a brand ambassador for premier mobile sports betting app WynnBET that will make him the new face of the brand. As part of his new exclusive partnership, O’Neal is required to sell his minority stake in the Sacramento Kings — which equals out to roughly 2-4% of an NBA team that’s now valued at $1.9 billion (What’s interesting is that the team was reportedly valued at $534 million at the time he became partial owner). However, the idea of this new partnership is to help bolster WynnBET’s profile with the support of a major sports figure.
NEWS: Shaq has been named a brand ambassador for @WynnBET and will be the face of advertising campaigns across TV, digital, and print.
To comply with NBA rules, Shaq will have to sell his minority stake in the Sacramento Kings.
He's up ~250% since he acquired the stake in 2013. pic.twitter.com/vu9t2TLS44
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) August 9, 2021
“Shaquille O’Neal has been a great friend of Wynn Las Vegas for many years, and we are thrilled to expand our relationship with him through a partnership with WynnBET,” Wynn Interactive CEO Craig Billings said in a statement. “A successful businessman, NBA legend and one of the most well-known personalities in sports media, we believe our players will enjoy interacting with him through the WynnBET app and are excited to feature Shaq in our advertising campaign set to debut later this summer.”
Though reports say O’Neal didn’t want to sell his portion of the team, his deal with WynnBET may prove to be equally lucrative in the long run.
“I love working with my friends at Wynn Resorts and I am so excited to take WynnBET to new heights,” he said in a statement. “Mobile sports betting is having a major moment, and I believe that WynnBET will be a powerful force in the industry.”
O’Neal’s deal with WynnBET includes advertising campaigns across TV, digital and print, as well as attending in-person consumer-facing events. He’s also slated to create original content with the app and star as a guest with company media partners like Blue Wire Podcasts, Cumulus Media and Minute Media. Additionally, he will also be launching his own free-to-play game called “ShaqPot” that will be housed inside the WynnBET app.
If people didn’t know about WynnBET before, they’re sure to know now with Shaquille O’Neal as the brand’s newest spokesperson.
