Being a super popular basketball player in the NBA comes with its own perks. They earn a lot of money not only through salaries but also through endorsements.
We have seen many NBA legends such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, etc. multiplying their wealth using endorsements.
But every superstar has their own strategy of which endorsements to accept and which to reject. While that might be true in most cases, that isn’t the case for Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal. No, we are not the ones making this claim, instead, it is former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman who said this.
Rodman wrote about this in his book Walk On The Wild Side and claimed that Shaq acted like a fool when it came to endorsing products.
Via Basketball Network:
“Some people wonder why companies would want someone as controversial as I am to pitch their products. I’ll tell you why and everyone knows it. Consumers aren’t total idiots. They can see right through someone like Shaquille O’Neal, who not only wh*res himself out to a million sponsors but acts like a damn fool. You’ll see Shaq being inten/iewed on live TV and he’ll say something like he just wants to be young, have fun, and drink Pepsi. Uh, yeah. No one could possibly believe that’s what he really feels; it’s such an obvious load of crap. He might as well dress up like a Pepsi can when he plays. No one should want to sell a product that bad. IT’S PATHETIC.”
He further added, “When I pitch, I have to do it my way. As long as a product serves a legitimate function and doesn’t take its shit too seriously, I’m willing to help sell it”
Rodman concluded, “The whole idea of lending your name to some corporate cause is bizarre. It’s temping to take some of these offers because the money is just so easy. This was especially true early in my career, before my salary was so high. It’s easy now for me to be selective; back then it was damn hard not to jump at any opportunity. Luckily, I didn’t have many offers until I started getting freaky, so the temptations pretty much weren’t there. I am proud that I never sold out and never kissed any a**. But it’s always a fine line when it comes to people selling your name.”
These are pretty controversial claims made by Rodman. While it might be true that Shaq is not overly selective with his endorsement deals, he has still managed to multiply his net worth over the years.
At the end of the day, Rodman and Shaq have very different natures and stances on which endorsement deals to sign. Some might side with Rodman on this take while others will support Shaq.
