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- Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to pay $1.8 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit tied to his FTX promotion
- The payout will cowl ideal costs, administrative costs, and investor compensation, resolving the case with out Shaq admitting fault
- He’ll be released from future authorized responsibility and prohibited from searching out for repayment from FTX’s financial waste estate
Shaquille O’Neal has quietly resolved the long-working lawsuit over his involvement with collapsed crypto alternate FTX by agreeing to a $1.8 million settlement in U.S. District Court in Florida. The deal closes a chapter that saw the basketball narrative and other celebrities accused of deceptive investors whereas selling FTX, seriously thru social media, are residing events, and commercials. Even though he modified into paid about $750,000 to endorse FTX, the settlement covers that quantity, plus costs and investor payouts, effectively shielding him from extra ideal exposure.
O’Neal Admits No Wrongdoing
O’Neal’s settlement, agreed in April and formally filed on June 9, will fund ideal representation, administrative costs, and distributions to eligible class individuals, particularly FTX customers active between May per chance well additionally simply 2019 and gradual 2022. He has now no longer admitted wrongdoing, but the settlement bars him from future claims in opposition to the FTX estate, finalising the case on his cease.
O’Neal follows within the footsteps of different excessive-profile endorsers, in conjunction with Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Osaka, and Larry David, all named within the consolidated class-action dart well with. While these forms of cases were brushed off, O’Neal remained entangled longer with authorized educated Adam Moskowitz noting that he “received in magnificent beneath the wire” before key ideal exemptions took live, returning bigger than he earned.
Not Shaq’s First Rodeo
This case isn’t O’Neal’s first brush with crypto-connected ideal danger. In November 2024, he agreed to an $11 million payout to resolve a separate lawsuit appealing Astrals, a Solana-primarily based mostly mostly NFT project he co-based mostly alongside with his son, Myles O’Neal. The project launched in early 2022 with promises of immersive lore, metaverse experiences, and utility tokens, but it faltered after the broader NFT market collapsed and project progress stalled.
Traders accused O’Neal of using his huge title remark to artificially inflate demand whereas quietly distancing himself from the project once interest former. The lawsuit alleged that promotional posts and appearances had been segment of a coordinated marketing and marketing campaign to pump up gross sales with out adequately disclosing the risks. The $11 million settlement didn’t encompass an act of contrition but modified into intended to compensate defrauded holders and cowl ideal costs.
