No NBA player, past or present, is an endorsement machine the way Shaquille O’Neal still is. His endorsements alone account for $200 million in earnings. For every NBA player, though, a rite of passage is getting a sneaker deal. That was done and dusted as soon as he entered the league in 1992 and he signed with Reebok. Then he did something unorthodox by leaving Reebok in 1998.

The one who understood this decision best was none other than Leonard Armato, Shaq’s agent at the time, who had been representing him since his LSU days. A few years later, Shaq and Armato upgraded their relationship from business to friends. He still knows the 7-foot human billboard the best. Only Armato can break down what steered Shaq back to Reebok in a brand-new role, which he does through an exclusive sit-down with Vishal Kolar on EssentiallySports.

Vishal: “Did you see this in his trajectory, like leading research at a basketball brand?”

Armato: “With Shaq and Reebok, it’s a little different. ‘Cause Shaq feels like there’s some unfinished business at Reebok.” 

What unfinished business could it be? Shaq became Reebok’s first signature athlete and brought it out of oblivion with bestsellers like the ‘Shaq Attack’. The Shaq Brand architect Armato himself recalled how Nike and Air Jordan overshadowed Reebok until Shaq brought in the big bucks. Armato said that O’Neal and Reebok’s relationship went “sideways” after a few years. By Shaq’s account, getting scolded by an old lady on the street convinced him to leave a $40 million contract extension and launch his own line of affordable sneakers under Walmart. Meanwhile, Reebok was on the decline after the Allen Iverson era.

Armato: Then Shaq said, ‘Look I want to buy Reebok, I want to be the president of Reebok basketball, we have unfinished business.’ So he’s really resolved to take Reebok back to its promised land of being number 1 again.”

When it looked like Shaq and Reebok were history, in 2021, Authentic Brands Group acquired Reebok from Adidas for $2.5 billion. Shaq, who’s not only under contract at Authentic but is also the second largest shareholder there, drove Authentic to get Reebok.

In 2023, he returned to Reebok as the president of basketball operations and brought with him the trendsetter himself, Allen Iverson, as the VP. They have a tough task of bringing a renaissance at Reebok. Yet Armato has confidence in the new prez.

Shaquille O’Neal’s sticking to tried and tested ways

Armato realized Shaq’s potential beyond the court and was the one who pushed him into entertainment with commercials, movies, TV shows, and music. Shaq’s only become a marketing genius over time before his former agent’s eyes. Armato showed a little honest uncertainty about how O’Neal will revolutionize Reebok while Nike maintains the largest market share and the Jordan Brand the second.

Shaq thought it through, though. He’s going to steal the Jordan Brand’s strategy to retro-release. “I’m like ‘Jordan don’t do new stuff.’ Jordan still sells old stuff,” he said in his earliest interview since coming to Reebok. Hence, the Prez brought back The Answer III and The Answer IV in 2023, two of the biggest bestsellers by its namesake. Of course, the Shaq Attaq is also back in nostalgia-driven colorways. In 2024, Shaq is bringing back his old friends 50 Cent and Jay-Z’s shoes as well.

They hope for a full relaunch in 2025. And then, Shaquille O’Neal hopes to be at the top of sneaker culture alongside Michael Jordan. The master marketer might just do it!