Shaquille O’Neal Agrees to $1.8M Settlement Over FTX Endorsement Lawsuit

Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to pay $1.8 million to resolve allegations tied to his promotion of the now-defunct cryptocurrency trade FTX, marking a uncommon movie star settlement within the wider authorized fallout from the platform’s collapse.

Filed in a Florida federal court docket, the proposed settlement would finish a category motion lawsuit that accused the previous NBA star of selling FTX as a secure and dependable funding, significantly by means of high-profile occasions and social media campaigns.

All-Inclusive Deal

The plaintiffs within the case are FTX customers who deposited funds or bought the trade’s proprietary token, FTT, between Might 2019 and late 2022. Throughout this era, the corporate had aggressively expanded its attain by means of movie star endorsements. In contrast to different endorsers corresponding to Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and Naomi Osaka, whose instances have been principally dismissed or unresolved, O’Neal remained legally entangled after a chronic effort to serve him court docket papers.

Whereas O’Neal denies any wrongdoing, the proposed settlement is structured to be closing. All the quantity will cowl legal professional charges, administrative prices, and funds to affected buyers. The settlement additionally prevents him from pursuing compensation from the FTX chapter property – a clause that successfully severs any future authorized or monetary entanglement with the case.

FTX, as soon as the world’s third-largest crypto trade, imploded in 2022 amid allegations that its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, misused billions in buyer deposits. In March 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in jail, whereas the corporate has since claimed that it is going to be capable of repay most customers.

Remaining Chapter

O’Neal had beforehand distanced himself from crypto markets, stating in interviews that he lacked understanding of the expertise and was merely a paid spokesperson. Regardless of this, his involvement in promotional content material, particularly throughout FTX’s closing levels, turned a central component within the lawsuit, which argued that his movie star endorsement contributed to the general public notion of FTX as a legit funding.

The deal wouldn’t solely convey closure to O’Neal’s involvement but in addition set up a precedent for a way high-profile movie star endorsements within the crypto business could also be scrutinized transferring ahead, if permitted by the court docket. In the meantime, the cost is due inside 30 days of judicial approval, closing a chapter on O’Neal’s ties to certainly one of crypto’s most infamous failures.