The collapse of FTX still resonates in the court system, with civil claims pending against former NFL quarterback, Fox lead NFL broadcaster, and minority Raiders owner Tom Brady. Despite scoring a partial win last month, the litigation continues for Brady.
But not for Shaquille O’Neal. He has settled the claims against him for $1.8 million.
The agreement was reached in April, before the issuance of a court decision dismissing many of the claims against the remaining defendants. The terms of O’Neal’s deal were disclosed this week in a court filing.
“Shaq got in right under the wire a few days before that order came out,” attorney Adam Moskowitz, who represents the plaintiffs in the FTX case, recently told FrontOfficeSports.com. “We gave him a good deal because it was before the order came out. He basically refunded what he was paid.”
On the surface, that’s a somewhat confusing comment, because the order to which Moskowitz refers was widely regarded as a win for celebrities like Brady. However, it preserved a portion of the case — and it resulted in a 500-page amended complaint, filed late last month.
Moskowitz predicts that the remaining celebrities, including Brady, could face massive financial exposure in the billions. The possibility hasn’t prompted them to try to settle the case.
“Other celebrities wouldn’t even sit down with us,” Moskowitz told FOS.
Time will tell whether Shaq got a great deal, or whether he paid more than he should have. It also will show whether the other celebrity endorsers — from Brady to Steph Curry to Larry David to Shohei Ohtani and more — should have heeded the wisdom of the Big Aristotle.
Regardless of whether Brady ever pays a penny, the FTX debacle remains an embarrassing (albeit widely ignored) aspect of his off-field legacy. He was all in with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who presided over the sudden and dramatic collapse of the crypto exchange Brady had aggressively touted.
In return, Brady got $55 million in FTX stock, which ultimately became worthless. And there’s still a chance Brady will be stuck with a sizable bill in order to compensate those who were victimized by the house of cards he hawked to unsuspecting consumers.