Basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, widely known as Shaq, has built a business through advertising. In 1992, he and his agent, Leonard Armato, developed a plan: O’Neal would own his name and logo, while companies would pay to use them. According to O’Neal, his Dunkman logo has appeared on more than 400 million pairs of affordable shoes. Keeping ownership allowed him to take the logo with him after his relationship with Reebok changed.
O’Neal says a large payment is not enough to make him accept an advertising deal. He must believe in the product. He has rejected offers from Wheaties because he has never eaten the cereal. His connection with car insurance company The General is personal: it provided insurance when he was a college student who could not afford other options.
He also believes social media should be used responsibly. He dislikes wealthy athletes displaying their riches online. Instead, he says his posts mainly aim to entertain and inspire people, with a smaller share promoting his activities.
