Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle a class-action lawsuit connected to his promotion of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The lawsuit accuses O'Neal of helping market unregistered securities by endorsing FTX before its dramatic failure in late 2022.
This settlement would end the class action against O'Neal, covering legal fees, administrative costs, and compensation to investors who deposited funds or held FTX's token, FTT, from May 2019 until late 2022. It also grants him broad legal immunity and releases him from future liability related to this matter, barring him from seeking repayment from the FTX bankruptcy estate.
O'Neal's lawyers expressed relief at resolving the issue. The legal action forms part of a larger effort to hold celebrities accountable for endorsing FTX, which collapsed amid fraud and mismanagement allegations involving founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March 2024.
Other celebrities involved in related lawsuits include NFL players Tom Brady and Trevor Lawrence, tennis star Naomi Osaka, and Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary. Several have reached undisclosed settlements, while some continue to contest allegations. O'Neal had earned approximately $750,000 promoting FTX. This settlement marks the first significant celebrity resolution in the ongoing litigation tied to FTX's downfall.