Before the game between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks during Game 2 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 23, 2025, Shaquille O’Neal was seen on the bench.
Jesse D. Garrabrant | National Basketball Association | Getty Images
Shaquille O’Neal has reached an agreement to pay $1.8 million to settle accusations that he misled investors while promoting the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.
The former NBA star, who previously encouraged fans to have confidence in the platform, will resolve the claims without admitting any wrongdoing. This settlement is significant as it is one of the first high-profile resolutions in the ongoing legal issues stemming from FTX’s bankruptcy.
The proposed settlement, submitted in a federal court in Florida, aims to conclude a class action lawsuit that claims O’Neal portrayed FTX as a safe and credible investment option, particularly during live events and across social media, while allegedly facilitating the promotion of unregistered securities.
The class action includes anyone who invested money in FTX or held its proprietary token, FTT, from May 2019 to late 2022.
If the judge approves the settlement, O’Neal’s $1.8 million payment will cover all legal fees, notification and administrative expenses, as well as payouts to eligible investors. This agreement also includes a broad release from any future liabilities and a clause preventing him from seeking reimbursement from the FTX bankruptcy estate.
In brief: The payment he is making is conclusive and comprehensive.
“We are glad to have this situation resolved,” O’Neal’s legal team stated.
Unlike other celebrity defendants and former FTX endorsers—such as Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, and Steph Curry—who saw their claims largely thrown out, O’Neal remained involved in the case after a protracted process to serve him legal documents.
Front Office Sports mentioned in February that O’Neal signed a $15 million contract to continue with TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”
In 2022, O’Neal told CNBC that concerning FTX, he “was merely a paid spokesperson for an advertisement.”
O’Neal was included in a class action lawsuit asserting that FTX’s representatives “either controlled, promoted, assisted in, or actively participated” in efforts to aggressively market the company.
In past interviews with CNBC Make It, O’Neal stated he was intentionally steering clear of cryptocurrency.
“I don’t understand it, so I will likely avoid it until I fully grasp what it is,” he said then, adding: “In my experience, it seems too good to be true.”
