100 Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq) Facts: How Much Money Does The Retired NBA Player Make? Net Worth, Age, Wife, Kids, Height, Bio, Wiki

Biography facts about former Basketball player Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal known popularly as Shaq that every fan should know.

Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal, known commonly as “Shaq”, is a 49-year-old American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. O’Neal is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and centers of all time. 

Retired NBA player, Shaquille O’Neal’s Shaq has a net worth of $400 million in 2021. During his NBA career, Shaq earned $292 million in salary alone. He earned well over $200 million from endorsements during that same time period. Even though he has been retired for many years, Shaq still earns around $60 million per year from endorsements and various business endeavors to this day.

The 7-foot center commonly known as Shaq was a 3-time NBA Finals MVP, 15-time All-Star selection, and 4-time NBA Champion. He was drafted 1st overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992, then went on to win the NBA MVP Award with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000 as well as three straight NBA Championships before helping the Miami Heat win the franchise’s first-ever NBA Championship in 2006.

He was taught to play basketball by his stepfather, who would make him practice before eating. His Robert G. Cole High School basketball team went 68-1 during his two years with the team, and he led the team to a Texas State Championship his senior year. 

During his college days at LSU, he was a two-time All-American and two-time SEC Player of the Year as well as the recipient of the 1991 Adolph Rupp Trophy for the NCAA men’s basketball player of the year.

He was married to Shaunie Nelson from 2002 until 2009. The couple had four children together: Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’arah. He is now dating Laticia Rolle.

He won three NBA titles alongside Kobe Bryant on the Lakers.

What was Shaquille O Neal’s birth weight? When did Shaquille O’Neal retire? How tall are Shaqs parents? How much is Shaq worth in 2021? Why did Shaq renounce his celebrity status? Read till the end of this article for answers to these search queries and more.

Shaquille O’Neal Profile Summary

Check out these incredible facts about the famous Basketball player, Shaquille O’Neal, that every fan should read about…

Early Life

#1. Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal often nicknamed “Shaq”, is an American former professional basketball player, actor, and rapper who is currently a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA on TNT along with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith as of January 2012.

#2. He is 49 years old and was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, NJ.

#3. O’Neal was a part of the Boys and Girls Club of America while growing up and he credits the organization for helping to keep him off the streets.

#4. The family moved from Newark and moved around to Germany and Texas.

#5. While still in high school, Shaq started to gain attention for his basketball talent.

#6. In his senior year, he led San Antonio’s Robert G. Cole High School team to the state championship.

#7. O’Neal went on to Louisiana State University where he became a two-time SEC player of the year and a two-time All-American.

#8. He also received the Adolph Rupp’s Trophy for the NCAA men’s basketball player of the year in 1991.

#9. He is considered one of the greatest players and centers in National Basketball Association (NBA) history.

#10. Standing at 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall and weighing 325 pounds (147 kg), he was one of the heaviest players to ever play in the NBA. O’Neal played for six teams over his 19-year career.

#11. Following his time at Louisiana State University, O’Neal was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the first overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft.

#12. He quickly became one of the best centers in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1992–93 and leading his team to the 1995 NBA Finals.

#13. After four years with the Magic, O’Neal signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers.

#14. They won three consecutive championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002 against the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and New Jersey Nets, respectively, and O’Neal was named the Finals MVP all three times.

#15. Amid tension between O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, and his fourth and final NBA championship followed in 2006 with Dwyane Wade being the MVP.

#16. Midway through the 2007–08 season, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns.

#17. After a season-and-a-half with the Suns, O’Neal was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009–10 season for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a 2011 second-round pick, and cash.

#18. O’Neal signed a 2-year deal with the Boston Celtics in the 2010–11 season before retiring.

#19. Was the 26th player to play for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, the two most storied franchises in the NBA.

#20. O’Neal’s individual accolades include the 1999–00 MVP award, the 1992–93 NBA Rookie of the Year award, 15 All-Star game selections, three All-Star Game MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards, two scoring titles, 14 All-NBA team selections, and three NBA All-Defensive Team selections.

#21. He is one of the only three players to win NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP, and Finals MVP awards in the same year (2000); the other players are Willis Reed in 1970 and Michael Jordan in 1996 and 1998.

#22. O’Neal and Jordan are the only players in NBA history to win Finals MVP in three straight seasons.

#23, He is the only player in NBA history to score at least 30 points in every game of multiple NBA Finals.

#24. He ranks 8th all-time in points scored, 6th in field goals, 15th in rebounds, and 8th in blocks. Largely due to his ability to dunk the basketball, O’Neal also ranks third all-time in field goal percentage (58.2%).

#25. O’Neal was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 along with Darell Garretson, Allen Iverson, Tom Izzo, John McLendon, and Sheryl Swoopes.

#26. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017 along with Toni Kukoč.

#27. In addition to his basketball career, O’Neal has released four rap albums, with his first, Shaq Diesel, going platinum.

#28. O’Neal is also an electronic music producer, and touring DJ, known as DIESEL.

#29. He has appeared in numerous films and has starred in his own reality shows, Shaq’s Big Challenge and Shaq Vs. 

#30. He hosts The Big Podcast with Shaq. He is also the first general manager of Kings Guard Gaming of the NBA 2K League.

#31. O’Neal appeared on the cover of NBA Live 96, NBA 2K6, NBA 2K7, NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, NBA Hoopz, and NBA Inside Drive 2004, and most recently, O’Neal appeared on the cover of the NBA 2K18 Legend Edition.

#32. Since the NBA 2K15 iteration, O’Neal has also appeared as a virtual studio analyst in the popular game.

Personal Life

#33. His mother is Lucille O’Neal, and his biological is father is Joseph Toney. Toney is the oldest of seven siblings.

#34. His father was addicted to drugs and went to prison for drug possession when O’Neal was just a baby.

#35. His parents never married and his father left soon after Shaq was born, upon his release from prison.

#36. O’Neal was estranged from his father for decades. At the age of two, his mother married Phillip Harrison who was a sergeant in the U.S. Army.

#37. Toney and O’Neal met for the first time in over 40 years when O’Neal learned Toney had been living above a restaurant O’Neal visits regularly.

#38. The father O’Neal grew up with was Phillip Harrison, a Jamaican army drill sergeant.

#39. He coached all of O’Neal’s youth teams and frequently played high school games against O’Neal’s biological father.

#40. Harrison lived with diabetes, hypertension, and myriad other health problems for almost 10 years before his death on September 10, 2013.

#41. Shaq married Shaunie Nelson in December 2002.

#42. O’Neal filed for divorce from Shaunie in September 2007. They changed their mind and withdrew their divorce but in November 2009, Shaunie filed an intent to divorce. She cited irreconcilable differences.

#43. O’Neal dated reality star Nicole Alexander from 2010-2012.

#44. Since 2014, Shaq has been dating model Laticia Rolle.

#45. When Hall of Fame center George Mikan died in June 2005, O’Neal paid for all of his funeral expenses.

#46. O’Neal is the father of 5 kids: Tahirah, Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’Arah. His son Shareef O’Neal is a basketball player. Shaq had a daughter, Taahirah, from a previous relationship with Arnetta Yardbourgh.

NBA Career

#47. Orlando Magic: In 1992 O’Neal became the first overall pick for the Orlando Magic.

#48. A year later he was named the Rookie of the Year and voted an All-Star-starter which had not been accomplished since Michael Jordan.

#49. In his second season, Shaq helped the Magic make their way to their first playoff series. The next year they made it to the finals but lost to the Houston Rockets.

#50. O’Neal was plagued by injury for a good deal of the 1995-96 season, though the Orlando Magic still finished the regular season with a winning record.

#51. In the playoffs that year, O’Neal and the Magic won the first two rounds but were ultimately defeated by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

#52. Olympic basketball team: In 1996, O’Neal was part of the men’s Olympic basketball team in Atlanta.

#53. That team went on to win the Olympic gold medal.

#54. It was during the Olympics that O’Neal announced his plans to join the Los Angeles Lakers as tensions rose amongst his coach, teammates, and local Orlando Media.

#55. Lakers: The Lakers offered O’Neal a seven-year $121 million deal.

#56. This move paired O’Neal with a teenaged Kobe Bryant, bringing two of the game’s biggest names together on one team.

#57. However, while his first few years with the Lakers were promising, they failed to clinch a championship.

#58. O’Neal battled against injury and personnel changes until a change in leadership turned things around.

#59. The arrival of former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson in the 1999-00 season set the Lakers on a path that would make them a dominant force for years to come.

#60. Jackson challenged O’Neal and led him to step up his defensive game. Shaquille and the Lakers won the NBA championship that year and would go on to win the title the next two years in a row.

#61. Miami Heat: O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. The following year, Shaq signed a 5-year contract with the team for $100 million.

#62. While he likely could have demanded more money, he stated that it was another championship that he was after.

#63. The team got their chance the very next year, as the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks to clinch the team’s first-ever title and O’Neal’s fourth.

#64. Phoenix Suns: Beginning in 2008, O’Neal’s days of long-term contracts with teams had come to an end. That year he was traded to the Phoenix Suns were, for the first time since his rookie season, he failed to make the playoffs.

#65. Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics: At the end of his first season with the team, he was traded to free up the budget. More one-year stints would follow, including with the Cleveland Cavaliers (alongside Lebron James) and his final season with the Boston Celtics.

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Player Profile

#66. Shaq stands at an astonishing 7 feet one inch and his shoe size is a remarkable 23.

#67. He became famous largely due to his physical stature, which gave him a distinct advantage over his opponents.

#68. On two occasions in his early NBA career, Shaq’s overwhelmingly powerful dunks broke the steel backboard supports of the net.

#69. This prompted the league to increase the strength and stability of the backboards from then on. O’Neal is famous for his “drop step” move which he nicknamed the Black Tornado.

Other Media and Business Ventures

#70. In the early nineties, Shaq was quickly becoming a huge star, exploring careers in the rap and film industry, appearing in films such as “Blue Chips” and “Kazamm”.

#71. He has also been featured in guest roles on a number of other films and television shows, including “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Parkers.”

#72. His first rap album, “Shaq Diesel” was released in 1993 and went on to become certified platinum. He continues to DJ and produces music under the name DIESEL.

#73, Shaq has also been featured in several video games throughout his career.

#74. Furthermore, O’Neal has starred in multiple reality series and hosts his own podcast. Other media roles include being a frequent commentator on NBA games and even a stint in professional wrestling.

#75. He has shown an interest in the business world as well. O’Neal has been active in the stock market and in real estate since the 1990s.

#76. On March 22, 2019, it was announced that he would join the Board of Directors of Papa Johns. With the job, Shaq will earn $8.25 million in salary and stock over three years. He is also investing $840,000 of his own money to buy 30% of a 9-unit franchise of Papa Johns in Atlanta.

#77. In 2013 Shaq paid $5 million for a 1% stake in the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

#78. In August 2021 Shaq sold his stake in the team so he could become the primary endorser of an online gambling company called WynnBET.

#79. He sold his stake in the Kings for $11 million.

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Endorsements

#80. Few athletes have embraced endorsements as fully as Shaquille O’Neal. As an instantly recognizable celebrity, a variety of companies have sought him out as a spokesperson.

#81. Some of his higher-profile endorsements include Pepsi, Carnival Cruise Line, and Reebok. A full list of Shaq’s endorsement deals and commercial appearances would be too long to list.

Academic Achievements

#82. One of Shaquille O’Neal’s other great accomplishments is that of gaining a doctoral degree in education.

#83. After receiving his master’s degree from the University of Phoenix, O’Neal embarked on the course through the private Catholic institution, Barry University.

#84. The course was primarily completed online over a number of years and reflected O’Neal’s passion for education and his interest in continuing to challenge himself.

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Real Estate

#85. For many recent years, Shaq’s primary residence was an enormous 12-bedroom mansion in Orlando. The main home is 35,000 square feet and features a 6,000 square-foot indoor basketball court, 17 car garage, and 10-foot privacy wall. Shaq purchased the land for his home back in 1993 for $4 million and proceeded to custom-build his dream mansion.

#86. He listed the home for sale for the first time in May 2018 for $28 million. He lowered the price in January 2019 to $22 million. It is located within a gated community called Isleworth Golf & Country Club.

#87. In September 2020 Shaq lowered the asking price of the property to $19.5 million. He finally accepted $16.5 million in January 2021. Check out the video tour.

#88. Outside of Florida Shaq owns a 15-acre in suburban Atlanta which he bought in 2017 for $1.15 million.

#89. In 2018 he paid $1.8 million for a home within a gated community in an LA suburb called Bell Canyon. He listed this home for sale at the end of 2019 for $2.5 million.

What is Shaquille O’Neal’s Net Worth?

#90. Shaquille O’Neal is a retired American basketball player, entrepreneur, television host, and product endorser.

#91. Shaquille O’Neal’s net worth is $400 million in 2021. During his NBA career, Shaq earned $292 million in salary alone.

#92. He earned well over $200 million from endorsements during that same time period. Even though he has been retired for many years, Shaq still earns around $60 million per year from endorsements and various business endeavors to this day.

#93. He earned $292 million in NBA salary

#94. He earned $200 million from endorsements while playing in the NBA

#95. Actually earns more money in retirement today

#96. Typically earns around $60 million per year

#97. Spent his first $1m NBA salary in 30 minutes

Shaq’s Social Media Accounts

#98. Instagram: @shaq with 20.8 followers.

#99. Twitter: @SHAQ

#100. Other media: Facebook: Shaq; YouTube: @Shap with 103K Subscribers. Website: shaqpack.com

Shaquille O’Neal Salary

What was Shaquille O’Neal’s peak salary? $27 million

Salary by year and team:

• 1992-93 Orlando Magic $3,000,000
• 1993-94 Orlando Magic $3,900,000
• 1994-95 Orlando Magic $4,800,000
• 1995-96 Orlando Magic $5,700,000
• 1996-97 Los Angeles Lakers $10,714,000
• 1997-98 Los Angeles Lakers $12,857,143
• 1998-99 Los Angeles Lakers $15,000,000
• 1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers $17,142,858
• 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers $19,285,715
• 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers $21,428,572
• 2002-03 Los Angeles Lakers $23,571,429
• 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers $24,749,999
• 2004-05 Miami Heat $27,696,430
• 2005-06 Miami Heat $20,000,000
• 2006-07 Miami Heat $20,000,000
• 2007-08 Phoenix Suns $20,000,000
• 2008-09 Phoenix Suns $21,000,000
• 2009-10 Cleveland Cavaliers $20,000,000
• 2010-11 Boston Celtics $1,352,181

Total career NBA earnings = $292,198,327

Career history

• Orlando Magic (1992–1996)
• Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004)
• Miami Heat (2004–2008)
• Phoenix Suns (2008–2009)
• Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010)
• Boston Celtics (2010–2011)

Career highlights and awards

• 4× NBA champion (2000–2002, 2006)
• 3× NBA Finals MVP (2000–2002)
• NBA Most Valuable Player (2000)
• 15× NBA All-Star (1993–1998, 2000–2007, 2009)
• 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2000, 2004, 2009)
• 2× NBA scoring champion (1995, 2000)
• 8× All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000–2006)
• 2× All-NBA Second Team (1995, 1999)
• 4× All-NBA Third Team (1994, 1996, 1997, 2009)
• 3× All-Defensive Second Team (2000, 2001, 2003)
• NBA Rookie of the Year (1993)
• NBA All-Rookie First Team (1993)
• FIBA World Championship MVP (1994)
• AP College Player of the Year (1992)
• Associated Press Player of the Year (1991)
• UPI College Player of the Year (1991)
• Adolph Rupp Trophy (1991)
• 2× Consensus first team All-American (1991–1992)
• 2× SEC Player of the Year (1991–1992)
• NCAA blocks leader (1992)
• NCAA rebounding leader (1991)
• 2× IBM Award (2000–2001)
• NBA 50th Anniversary Team
• NBA 75th Anniversary Team
• McDonald’s All-American Game Co-MVP (1989)
• First-team Parade All-American (1989)
• Texas Mr. Basketball (1989)
• No. 33 retired by LSU Tigers
• No. 34 retired by the Los Angeles Lakers
• No. 32 retired by the Miami Heat