Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson signing on to Reebok has benefited the business.

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, O’Neal returned to Reebok in 2023 after walking away from a $40 million deal more than two decades earlier in 1998. He was appointed as Reebok’s president of basketball and has been “very” hands-on, he told Boardroom.

“I do everything but nothing,” he said to the outlet. “True leaders don’t micromanage. If I’m gonna start a media company, I’ll call you. You do all the work, I proofread it, say yes or no, and we move on from there.”

One of O’Neal’s strategic decisions was onboarding Angel Reese, who signed the company’s first major name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal. Now in the WNBA, representing the Chicago Sky, Reese dropped her signature shoe line with Reebok on Sept. 18, under a multiyear contract extension, and it sold out within hours of launching, CBS Sports reports. This affirms O’Neal’s priorities when he joined Reebok.

“It’s all about product, players, and the community and having the confidence to do things our own way,” O’Neal said, according to Footwear News. “We need to capitalize on Reebok’s heritage and product expertise in the sport for today’s youth, but also focus on getting involved in the community from a grassroots level. We’re going to bring in a new generation of players who have strong authenticity and passion, or what I like to refer to as the ‘it’ factor, who can put their own mark on this brand and make it relevant to a whole new generation.”

Another legendary player joined O’Neal from the NBA, Allen Iverson. He serves as vice president of basketball for Reebok and is still signed to a lifetime deal he made with the brand in 2001 as a Philadelphia 76er. The deal pays him $800,000 yearly and will lead to a $32 million payout on his 55th birthday, according to a separate AFROTECH™ story. Iverson is tasked with “player recruitment, grassroots and community-based initiatives, and athlete activations.”

O’Neal’s and Iverson’s involvement with Reebok is proving to be profitable. In 2020, Reebok’s sales were $1.6 billion, and that number rose to $5 billion in 2024. O’Neal is also the second-largest shareholder in Authentic Brands Group, which purchased Reebok in 2021 for $2.5 billion.

“I remember when I was playing, we were never No. 1, but we were never No. 3,” O’Neal explained, according to Boardroom. “Ever since we purchased Reebok, we’re up. Way up, with Reebok overall. So, I’m just trying to get Reebok basketball in a very comfortable place.”