$500,000,000 worth Shaquille O’Neal reveals corporate crackdown on his flat earth theory mention

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal has been garnering immense attention after his recent comments regarding his 'flat-earth' theory.

$500,000,000 worth Shaquille O’Neal reveals corporate crackdown on his flat earth theory mention

Shaquille O'Neal (Image by FirstSportz)

Kyrie Irving shocked the NBA community in 2017 when he talked about conspiracy theories regarding the Earth being flat, or as he phrased it, “not even a conspiracy theory.” Irving claimed on the Road Trippin’ with RJ & Channing podcast that the Earth is flat, something that garnered unwanted noise in the NBA World back then. Notably, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal also was part of this conspiracy theory.

Throughout his tenure, O’Neal has made several contentious remarks, but only one of them led to a contact from human resources. Shaq and guest David Spade spoke and discussed various topics in and around the globe on the Big Podcast. O’Neal’s previously popular flat earth idea was among the various conspiracies that were discussed as a result of this.

I said that as a joke and the internet went freaking crazy on me. I had a corporation I was working with…when I said that and it went viral, they actually called me in. And I had to talk to the HR department and they were talking about dropping me. I said, ‘You can drop me if you want, you’re still gonna have to pay me.’ They were like, ‘Yeah, we got a lot of hate mail.’ That’s when I knew the world was really shifting, especially listening to the comments.

Shaquille O’Neal said on the Big Podcast

Even though O’Neal came out as a flat earther, he has since said it was a joke. He disclosed that the business was inundated with more than 500,000 complaints, which finally caused them to break the agreement, although he did not name the company. It was not TNT Sports, which hires The Big Aristotle as a basketball pundit, but rather a brand O’Neal was sponsored by.

However, TNT has set limits for its workers, as seen by its earlier request that Charles Barkley remove his reference to the “women of San Antonio.” As for O’Neal and his flat-earth theory, he did not settle down despite getting a warning from HR.

O’Neal kind of reaffirmed the hypothesis when he was asked about it on an Australian radio show in 2022, pointing out that the airplane flew straight during his 20-hour voyage across the globe. Notably, conspiracy theories are something that would get one in trouble. Nowadays, many choose to stay away from them.

Shaquille O’Neal made an important revelation regarding Amazon owner Jeff Bezos

Shaquille O’Neal attributes his ability to write checks to Jeff Bezos, who teaches him to sign up for ventures that reflect his principles. The business tycoon and four-time NBA champion claims that after he began investing like the inventor of Amazon, his financial fortune took off. By the looks of it now, it does seem O’Neal is right.

I heard Jeff Bezos say one time [that] he makes his investments based on if it’s going to change people’s lives. Once I started doing that strategy, I think I probably quadrupled what I’m worth.

Shaquille O’Neal said

O’Neal’s net worth quadrupled as he implemented this attitude across industries. Krispy Kreme, Five Guys, Big Chicken, 24 Hour Fitness, Carnival Cruise Lines, and Papa John’s, where he is a board member, are among his portfolio companies. He claims he won’t share his current net worth of about $500 million with his children.

Former ESPN president reveals botched Shaquille O’Neal recruitment pitch

To acquire superstars like Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley, former ESPN President John Skipper outlined a plan years ago, but failed at that time. Now, years later, he will see the cast of TNT’s Inside the NBA reluctantly appear on ESPN programming at the beginning of the 2025–2026 season. Interestingly, Skipper opened up on the failed recruitment pitch lately.

I tried very hard to get Shaq when he was available. Tried to convince him that it could be his show on ESPN. He wouldn’t be the second fiddle to Charles Barkley. And David Levy, a good friend of mine, went to him and said ‘I’m going to pay you as much, probably more than John Skipper will.

John Skipper said

Given their comic and fluid manner on Inside the NBA, it is difficult to imagine either Barkley or O’Neal on a show like SportsCenter, based on what we know about them. Nevertheless, the duo will now feature on ESPN after the new deal struck by the NBA.

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