Shaquille O’Neal’s $1.8 million settlement for promoting collapsed crypto exchange FTX might be lucrative. Tom Brady, Steph Curry, and David Ortiz might still be liable for billions in damages.

The NBA icon settled FTX collapse lawsuits for $1.8 million this week. Over $1 million more than O’Neal’s $750,000 FTX promotion fee. He was known to settle. On Monday, O’Neal and FTX investors disclosed their April agreement details in a legal filing.

Although class members may receive less, the $1.8 million settlement is significant. Court filings suggest the class might comprise more than a million people, meaning individual compensation could be less than $2 per class member without attorneys’ fees and other costs.

O’Neal may reconsider promoting his next crypto or NFT business after paying $11 million in November to settle a claim over allegations he pushed but then deserted Astrals, which plummeted in value. Adam Moskowitz, an attorney for FTX investors, says O’Neal won handsomely by settling the FTX lawsuits.

Moskowitz told reporters that the connection with O’Neal’s Astrals attorneys, who eventually represented him in the FTX litigation, led to the settlement.

After O’Neal’s FTX settlement in late April, the judge in the case—which involves multiple lawsuits from different jurisdictions consolidated into one sprawling lawsuit in Florida federal court—dismissed many celebrity and athlete endorser claims in early May. Several major claims remain, including one under Florida state law that forbids marketing unregistered securities.

“Shaq got in right under the wire a few days before that order came out,” Moskowitz tells FOS. Because it was before the order, we gave him a terrific deal. He practically reimbursed his payment.”

Brady, Curry, Ortiz, Brady’s ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, MLB star Shohei Ohtani, former NBA player Udonis Haslem, professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, comedian Larry David, and Major League Baseball are also involved in the November 2022 case. Moskowitz estimates that pursuing the case in court may cost billions.

“Other celebrities wouldn’t even sit down with us,” Moskowitz says.

A more than 500-page revised complaint by FTX investors, filed May 28, criticizes celebrity and athlete endorsers’ claim that they were merely advocating a product without knowing the hazards.

“Many were explicitly warned about the legal risks but continued soliciting sales to the public for their own financial benefit,” the updated complaint states.

Separate bankruptcy litigation revealed FTX promotion fees paid to athletes and celebrities. Athletes and celebrities supported FTX through television advertising, social media posts, and public appearances as a safe and dependable exchange.

Ortiz made $271,000 and Osaka made $308,000 in addition to O’Neal’s $750,000. Brady and Curry reportedly received $55 million and $35 million.

This is a lot of money, but it pales in contrast to the overall damages if the FTX investors win at trial. Amended complaint expects damages over “tens of billions of dollars.”

The fall of FTX was swift. After Sam Bankman-Fried, its founder and CEO, misappropriated billions of customer funds, the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed in fall 2022. The controversy bankrupted FTX and convicted Bankman-Fried of several fraud and conspiracy charges. He received 25 years in prison last year.

O’Neal and Ohtani declined comment. The other defendant sportsmen and celebrities’ attorneys did not reply to demands for comment.

 

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