Shaquille O’Neal has a personality that is larger than life, but that personality has gotten him into trouble in the past as well. The Diesel made a big money move to the Los Angeles Lakers where he would make approximately $20M a year.
As Shaq treated himself after receiving his first paycheck, he forgot about the 50% tax deduction that came with his move from Orlando to Los Angeles.
By the time Shaq realized that he would only receive $10.5M on his paycheck, the money was already spent on 3 new Rolls Royce cars and since there was no provision of a refund, he went home with $1.5M left to spare.
What did Shaq say?
O’Neal talked about this story on Gary Vee’s Podcast. Shaq said: "So now when I first get to LA, listen 120 through 7 [years]. What's that, what I made what $20 [million] a year something like that. So I get to LA now, I gotta floss Gary. I'm going over, and I'm looking at matches in the hills. How much is this for me? Cash. How much is that Rolls Royce? $300,000? We get three of them, another million. Just straight cash."
He further mentioned: "So, when I saw my cheque with $10.9 million and I had spent $9 million, boy, was I upset with myself. I really was.”
O’Neal was saved by his agent
O'Neal said that he was told by his agent Perry Rogers that he had overspent while he was in the middle of his shopping trip. Instead of leaving with $1.5 million in his wallet, O'Neal most likely would have returned home without any money if it weren't for Rogers.
This is one of the key reasons why agents are important to well-known athletes like O'Neal. Player agents not only represent their respective teams on their behalf, but they also function somewhat as financial advisors.
