Shaq's Franchise Ownership Makes Sports Star Restaurant King

Shaq is not only a giant among fellow athletes. He’s also the ultimate entrepreneur, owning car washes, gyms and major fast food restaurants.

By Erica InmanStaff Writer

9:09AM • 01/11/24

Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t always as business savvy as he is now. He spent the first million dollars he ever made in one day. After forgetting about the concept of taxes, he went into debt immediately. Granted, he was only 21 at the time, and he did generously use some of the money to buy cars for his loved ones.

Since then, he’s improved his financial savvy, becoming the king of franchising with over 100 restaurants, 150 car washes, 40 gyms and a movie theater, among other business ventures. But why did he decide to get so involved in business ownership when he already was making so much money from his basketball career?

“I learned from the great Magic Johnson that it’s okay to be a basketball star, but at some point you want to start investing in businesses,” O’Neal told CNBC during an International Franchise Association conference.

Diversifying his income was a wise choice, and a choice other professional athletes could learn from, as 78% of professional athletes go broke within three years of retirement.

Even though he retired from the NBA in 2011, O’Neal is far from broke, with an estimated net worth of $400 million and continued steady revenues of income thanks to his expertise in franchising, including franchise ownership with the following food brands.

Krispy Kreme

Initial Investment Range: $440,500 to $3,410,000

Although he is already a franchise owner with the donut brand in Atlanta, O’Neal told TMZ he would love to own 100 units with them at some point.

Papa Johns Pizza

Initial Investment Range: $200,000 to $789,000

O’Neal owns nine Papa Johns restaurants and acts as a brand ambassador for this pizza giant, signing a $5.63 million endorsement deal in 2022.

Five Guys

Initial Investment Range: $306,200 to $716,250

At one point, O’Neal owned 155 locations of this burger franchise, with his ownership making up 10% of the total company at the time. He has since sold his locations.

Auntie Anne’s Pretzels

Initial Investment Range: $146,050 to $523,500

Everyone loves a big pretzel at the mall, and O’Neal is the owner of 17 of these prolific pretzel restaurants. The locations he owns are split between Michigan and New York.

Big Chicken

Initial Investment Range: $450,000 to $1.4 million

Big Chicken was founded by O’Neal in 2018, and he remains the majority owner. This chicken sandwich brand has already sold over 200 units since first offering franchising in 2022.

While O’Neal has clearly experienced a great deal of success in franchising with food brands, he does regret passing up a major opportunity to franchise with Starbucks when the CEO reached out to his agent.

“No amount of money could make me endorse something I’m not 100% behind,” said O’Neal to journalist Graham Bensinger in an interview.

O’Neal then told Bensinger about the proposition to franchise with Starbucks and how he rejected CEO Howard Schutz’s proposal because he had never seen his family drinking coffee growing up.

“I took the great Howard Schutz … and said, ‘black people don’t drink coffee, sir. I don’t think it’s going to work,’” explained O’Neal. “And you should have seen his face.”

He may have been wrong on that account, but his many other successful business decisions have surely made up for his mistake.

While professional athletes are known to make a fortune, franchising has earned O’Neal more annually than his $30 million per year paycheck from the NBA. So, if you can’t become a professional athlete, you might want to consider venturing into franchising instead.

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