While it's still unclear as to which nickname Shaquille O'Neal will adopt for his Celtics tenure, the city of Boston can count on one thing: Shaq means money.
The future Hall of Fame center is one of the most marketable players in the game and arguably one of the most marketable athletes in the world.
O’Neal ranked sixth in the latest Sports Illustrated highest-earning athletes list, thanks to $15 million in endorsements alone. The big fella also hauled in a $21 million paycheck from the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he won't be making anywhere near that here in Boston, as he was reportedly signed to the veteran-minimum contract of two years at about $3 million.
"Shaq is a marketing giant," John Vrooman, a sports economist at Vanderbilt University, told the Boston Herald. "He will benefit from the Hub’s strong media presence, where there’s money to be made on local endorsements."
And at 7-foot-1, 325 pounds, Shaq's the perfect face — and body — for local restaurants.
"We definitely like the ‘Summer Shaq’ connection," Jasper White, the celebrity chef behind the Summer Shack concept, told the Herald. "It’s a great fit and a great idea. … We will try to do something with him. The minute I heard about him coming, I thought about the idea."
