Shaquille O'Neal made a lot of money during his NBA career, but he seems to be a bit jealous of what players are making in today's NBA.
O'Neal recently appeared on "The Big Podcast" and was asked what he thought about some of the bigs currently on big-money contracts in the NBA. Shaq did not hold back, saying that it angered him that certain players, like Rudy Gobert, are making so much more money than he did just over a decade after his retirement.
"You think I'm happy Rudy Gobert's making $250 [million]?" Shaq asked. "God damn right we get mad, we get petty. ... I think it's a little bit of truth in our criticism."
This marks the second time recently that O'Neal has called out Gobert. The first time, he said that he could beat Gobert with ease in a one-on-one matchup. That's part of why it shocks him that Gobert is making so much compared to what he did in the NBA.
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O'Neal earned just over $286 million during his 19-year NBA career, per Spotrac.com. As such, it's understandable that he would be a bit miffed that a player like Gobert is making nearly that much over a five-to-six-year span.
Of course, there is a reason for that. The NBA salary cap has risen significantly since Shaq's retirement, with its most notable increase coming ahead of the 2016-17 season. That occurred when ESPN and Turner Sports agreed to a massive TV deal with the league that added a huge influx of revenue to the sharing pool.
Since then, contracts have become much larger, and they will only continue to increase in value in 2025 when the NBA's next TV deal is signed.
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Still, O'Neal's comments drew attention, as some were quick to point out that O'Neal still made a lot of money during and after his NBA career. Kevin Durant was one of Shaq's critics and called him out on Twitter after the comments.
Shaquille is hilarious. You’re a billionaire bro lol https://t.co/11Bq3EIY6i
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 28, 2022
"Shaquille is hilarious," Durant wrote. "You’re a billionaire bro lol."
Unsurprisingly, O'Neal took time to clap back at Durant. The "NBA on TNT" analyst thanked Durant for the compliment and clarified that he is not, in fact, a billionaire.
i know i'm hillarious, and i'm not a billionaire i'm actually broke. but will always speak facts. thank you saying i'm funny means a lot
— SHAQ.SOL (@SHAQ) June 28, 2022
Indeed, Shaq is not a billionaire. Of course, he isn't broke either. He invests in a lot of companies and businesses, has a prominent job as a TV analyst and is a spokesperson for many products as well.
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That said, Celebrity Net Worth projects O'Neal's worth at $400 million; that's about twice as much as Durant's $200 million net worth, but it's not even halfway to being a billionaire.
Still, the bottom line here is that O'Neal certainly doesn't need to worry about what current players are making. Sure, if he was playing now, he would make more, but he has more than enough money to get by.
And who knows ... perhaps in the modern, floor-spacing-oriented NBA, Shaq may not have been as big a star.
