Shaquille O'Neal: 'I would never be one-and-done' in NIL era

Before he became the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft and a Hall of Famer, Shaquille O’Neal spent three years at LSU. That was before the age of “one-and-dones,” where players could declare after one year of college basketball.

But when looking at the current college basketball landscape, O’Neal said he still doesn’t think he would have gone the one-and-done route. In the NIL era, he argued he would have stayed at LSU as long as he could, maximizing his education in the process.

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Speaking with Dan Patrick, O’Neal said he would be one of the big earners in the NIL space if he was at LSU right now. But he’d also take the time to learn all he could about the business side, which would set him up for the future.

“I wouldn’t be one-and-done. … With this NIL stuff, I would definitely be at the top of the list, and I would milk that,” O’Neal said. “If you’re a top NIL guy, I think you can make more than what these rookies are making on their contracts.

“But again, college is all about education. So I would try to get as much education when it comes to business as I can.”

Shaquille O’Neal: ‘I’m going to be very fundamentally sound’

As he assessed NIL’s role in keeping players in college, Shaquille O’Neal discussed an investment plan to set himself up. While the numbers he used were high – O’Neal floated $8-10 million in deals, which is more than any player is currently known to be making – his point was about taking advantage of the dollars to put toward the future.

By investing and getting familiar with the business space, O’Neal said he would not go the one-and-done route. Instead, he would stay in school.

“Let’s just say I’m making $8, $9, $10 million a year from NIL deals, I’m going to stay,” O’Neal said. “That’s $30 million right there. I’m going to have $30 million in the bank and I’m going to have the knowledge of what to do with this $30 million, the business acumen and I’m going to know everything about the NBA. I’m going to be very fundamentally sound.

“I would never be one-and-done. I would actually take advantage of the educational system. Everybody always talks about money, but if you’re getting NIL money, why go to the NBA and become a professional and get money, get less money, who knows?”