Shortly
- NBA legend Shaquille o’Neal settled a lawsuit filed by FTX accusing him to have helped the defunct cryptocurrency exchange sell securities without being registered.
- He's one of several celebrities to have been sued, including NFL quarterback and icon Tom Brady, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and Shark Tank personality Kevin O’Leary.
- Lawyers asked that details about the settlement remain confidential.
Shaquille o’Neal, the basketball legend has settled a lawsuit in which he was accused of “active participation” in FTX’s sale and offer of unregistered security before its collapse in 2022. O’Neal claimed in an advertisement that he had “all-in” with the exchange despite later saying he did not understand cryptocurrency.
In a filing from the Southern District of Florida dated April 23, the plaintiffs, O’Neal, and the defendants reached an agreement and plan to submit their formal approval request soon. In the filing, the plaintiffs request that the terms of settlement remain secret.
O’Neal’s name isn’t alone in the legal battles that followed FTX’s failure. Tom Brady was also implicated as an NFL legend, Naomi Osaka is a tennis player, and Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank.
We couldn't keep it secret any longer! We're partnering with…the one…the only…@SHAQ! (a.k.a. Shaqtoshi) pic.twitter.com/V37UQ5wsXI
— FTX (@FTX_Official) June 1, 2022
NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence, YouTubers Tom Nash, and Kevin Paffrath have agreed to an undisclosed agreement in 2023.
Meanwhile, O’Neal was said to be “running” from lawyers—that’s according to attorneys at the Moskowitz Law Firm who said they had difficulty serving papers to the NBA legend. It was claimed that the firm had tried to serve O’Neal multiple times, even waiting outside TNT in Atalanta studios for an entire week with the hope of hand-delivering the lawsuit.
The current management of FTX disclosed a number of sports teams, celebrities and businesses that received payment for the marketing campaigns. It was here that O’Neal’s advertisement cost him close to $750,000.
FTX also had a sponsorship agreement with Miami Heat, the NBA team in Miami. The deal was worth $135m over 19 years. This deal also included renaming of the stadium to FTX Arena. The Kaseya Center was renamed after the failed exchange.
O’Neal’s settlement isn’t his first in the crypto world.
The former basketballer reached a settlement with his Astrals NFT Project in 2024. In the lawsuit, O’Neal was accused of actively promoting his Astral NFT before abandoning the project in 2022. The federal judge in Florida said the NBA legend was a plausible “seller”, under the securities law.
O’Neal agreed with Astrals and its associated entities to settle for $11,000,000 in financial relief.
Stacy Elliott edited this article.
