An end may be near for a lawsuit involving Shaquille O’Neal. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, O’Neal was named in a class action lawsuit filed against the Astrals Project in a Florida federal court in 2023. He was one of the founders of the project, along with music manager Brian Bayati and O’Neal’s son Myles O’Neal. “Plaintiffs in the billion $ FTX class action case just served @SHAQ outside his house,” the Moskowitz Law Firm shared on X at the time. “His home video cameras recorded our service, and we made it very clear that he is not to destroy or erase any of these security tapes because they must be preserved for our lawsuit.” The Astrals Project initially launched the “Shaq Signature Pass,” marketed as the “first consumable NFT of its kind,” per The Hollywood Reporter. It claimed the signing technology had “wide-ranging applications.” In total, Astrals included 10,000 NFT (non-fungible token) 3D avatars and a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) intended for...

It’s official! Shaquille O’Neal is tied to a billion-dollar deal! As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, O’Neal is the second-largest shareholder in Authentic Brands Group. This is the result of a 2015 deal that gave the company the rights to manage his name in merchandise and endorsements. O’Neal explained the significance of the deal during a previous AFROTECH™ interview stating, “My Authentic Brands deal, I was able to ensure that hopefully I can stay around after I’m no longer on this earth. And I was walking down the street one day and looking at these Elvis cups and Elvis key chains and Marilyn Monroe, and I said to myself, ‘How are these people still making money for their families?’ They’re not even around. So, I found out how that business works, and I contacted two or three of those agencies and asked them if they were interested in partnering with Authentic Brands, and we’ve been doing major things.” He added, “I’m now the second-largest shareholder in Authentic Brands Group,...

A controversial conspiracy theory reportedly led Shaquille O’Neal to lose a $20 million deal. O’Neal has a track record of hitting gold in business. It’s why he has supposedly amassed $500 million, per Celebrity New Worth. Some of his wise moves include his Big Chicken restaurant franchise, which can be found in California, Nevada, New York, Texas, Washington, and on the seas thanks to two Carnival Cruise ships, a press release notes. Most recently, Big Chicken celebrated its grand opening in the Dallas, TX, area in Fort Worth, now marking its fifth franchise location in Texas. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Big Chicken (@bigchickenshaq) One can also look to his success in the investment world. He invested in Google and unintentionally struck gold. In fact, it was by “accident” that he even invested in the tech company. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, he spoke with a prominent investor who was talking about Google at the Four Seasons. The conversation led to a...

A class action lawsuit continues to loom over Shaquille O’Neal. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, he was named in a class-action lawsuit filed against the Astrals Project, which he created alongside Music Manager Brian Bayati, who serves as the CEO, and his son Myles O’Neal, who is the head of investor relations. They launched to the public the “Shaq Signature Pass,” a non-fungible token (NFT) series that was labeled as the “first consumable NFT of its kind, and the signing technology is one that we think will have wide-ranging applications.” Coindesk mentions Astrals consisted of 10,000 NFT 3D avatars and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for “incubating innovative projects” with the Galaxy token serving as the governance token. In a class action filed in Florida federal court in 2023, it stated the project was in violation of securities law as the company sold unregistered Astrals tokens, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Investor Daniel Harper, who allegedly lost...

Shaquille O’Neal is taking his restaurant franchise talents to Nebraska. The former NBA superstar-turned-serial entrepreneur has announced that his fast-casual restaurant franchise, Big Chicken, will expand to the Omaha market, according to KETV Omaha. O’Neal plans to open two Big Chicken locations in Omaha, led by father-son duo and local entrepreneurs Tom and Zak Davis. “Our experience has provided us a perspective on Big Chicken that we feel fantastic about. We know that it is the right time to bring the quickly growing brand to Omaha,” said Tom, per KETV. “There are a lot of parallels for us with Big Chicken and its leadership team. We have a deep appreciation for running great restaurants, and Big Chicken’s team is equal to the match. We have been following the growth of Big Chicken for a while, and once we were finally able to try the menu, we decided to get serious about opening our own stores in Omaha.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Big Chicken...

Shaquille O’Neal once invested in Ray J’s music career. During an interview on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast “Club Shay Shay,” the R&B singer-turned-entrepreneur reveals he received $1.5 million from the former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player to support “Sexy Can I,” the first single from his 2008 studio album “All I Feel.” The single featuring Yung Berg would go on to become a top 10 hit on Billboard. O’Neal saw a big return on that investment , Ray J says on the podcast. “He gave us $1.5 [million] for the ‘Sexy Can I’ project, which was the ‘All I Feel’ project, and ‘Sexy Can I’ was the record to lead off. It sold 8 million copies,” Ray J told Sharpe. “We recouped the number back for Shaq, and I don’t know five months, six months, and everything else has been profitable ever since, so shout out to Shaq.” He added, “If you look at the ‘Sexy Can I’ video, you see Shaq in the video. He’s the one with the camera.” Photo Credit: YouTube/ MNRK Music Group O’Neal has distinguished...

Angel Reese is in high demand. The WNBA player, who is signed to Reebok under a multi-year endorsement deal as of October 2023, shares that she had the option to sign with other shoe brands such as Nike, a familiar pattern among various greats, including Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Kevin Durant. “I wanted be a priority ’cause I could have signed easily with Nike,” Reese says in a resurfaced video shared on X, formerly Twitter. “I could assign easily with Jordan. But like everybody doing that. I don’t like doing what everybody do. I like to do the complete opposite. I’m bringing Reebok back.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Reebok (@reebok) As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Reese’s signing with Reebok was the company’s first major Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal. In her post, Reese shares that it will open doors for her own signature shoe to be released in the near future. She also credits her relationship with Shaquille O’Neal, who serves as...

Allen Iverson grew up loving Jordan shoes, and he almost could have signed with the brand. During an interview with Complex, the basketball legend expresses feeling enamored with Michael Jordan and always desiring to sport his shoes. Little did the Hampton, VA, native realize, he would not only grow up to land his own shoe deal before his rookie season in the NBA but he would be in talks for a signature sneaker with the Jordan Brand. Sports Illustrated mentions that when Iverson was drafted to the NBA in 1996, he caught the attention of every major sneaker company. The Jordan Brand even created a prototype named after Iverson’s nickname “Bubba Chuck” to entice him. Had he signed to the Jordan Brand, he would have became its first signature athlete, Sports Illustrated reports. However, Iverson found Reebok to be the most convincing in its pitch. “Remember that like it was yesterday because that was a big decision for me,” Iverson told Complex. “Just looking back on it, I feel good...