Move over Hannah Montana! Shaquille O’Neal has the best of both worlds. He can be the much-hyped rookie superstar to hit the ground running and a savvy businessman at the same time. As the second largest shareholder in Authentic Brands Group, Shaq congratulated his business partners for closing a new deal. This deal also keeps the Sports Illustrated legacy going after the recent months of uncertainty. And when you talk SI legacy, you can’t skip out on one of its greatest cover stars.

Shaquille O’Neal threw it back to his first SI cover, when he was an Orlando Magic rookie in 1992, to congratulate his friend and ABG’s head honcho, Jamie Salter. “Congrats @weareauthentic @jamiejsalter and @minute_media on the new publishing deal for @sportsillustrated. Big things coming!”

The future of SI’s print edition was in limbo at least since January when ABG revoked the license of The Arena Group. It appears the licensing negotiations fell through and Authentic went with Minute Media, a digital media company with a focus on sports. Minute Media signed a “longterm deal” with ABG to acquire SI’s publishing rights.

The financial terms and the duration of this deal is not known. The Arena Group was refusing to pay $3.75 million in quarterly payments. The deal with Minute Media could be valued around that and is said to last at least till the illustrious media house’s centenary.

Shaq beat everyone to the punch to celebrate Salter and Authentic Brands’ new deal. He’s probably most ecstatic that SI’s print edition will continue. After all, it has followed him from the start of his NBA career.

Tracing Shaquille O’Neal’s career with SI 

O’Neal has been on the cover of SI 41 times according to the mag’s vaults. From his three-peat with the Lakers, to his cover with Kobe Bryant, and that dual cover with Michael Jordan, the highlights of his career have made the cover in spectacular fashion. Some of them are collectibles bearing his or Jordan’s autographs.

Given which two of those 41 instances he used to celebrate this moment, they’re obviously special to him. The first one is his first-ever SI cover, published in November 1992 when the first overall draft pick left a mark on the league and went on to win Rookie of the Year.

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His second special one was one of the final times he’d be on the cover in an Orlando Magic jersey. That’s in December 1995, titled ‘Shaq is Baq,’ because the big man came back from an injury and terrorized his opponents. It also came a few issues after his playoff clash with a fresh out-of-retirement Michael Jordan made the cover.

The value of one of those covers, maybe with one of the athlete’s signatures is invaluable in terms of sentiment for fans and the athletes alike. He’s definitely celebrating the legacy continuing with the print edition. What those “Big things” Big Diesel promises is highly anticipated.

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