Shaq makes big announcement about his Sacramento Kings ownership

Shaquille O’Neal made a big announcement on Wednesday night regarding his ownership stake in the Sacramento Kings.

O’Neal has been a minority owner of the Kings since 2013. His partial ownership of the franchise was surprising at the time considering O’Neal had a big beef with the Kings since they were rivals of his Los Angeles Lakers during his playing career.

But O’Neal’s ownership of the Kings has ended.

The Hall of Famer announced that he has sold his ownership stake to comply with NBA rules.

. @SacramentoKings @Vivek All love…✌🏿👑 #Shaqramento pic.twitter.com/QJ3gtDcwUO

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) January 13, 2022

In his statement, O’Neal said that he has a “new business endeavor” that required him to sell his interest in the team.

The league has strict rules about avoiding conflicts of interest. For example, Jay-Z once had to sell his ownership share of the Brooklyn Nets when he began working as a player agent.

The business venture O’Neal is participating in that required him to sell his Kings interest has to do with sports betting. Shaq is partnering with WynnBet, a gambling company that is trying to take advantage of the increasing legalization of sports betting throughout the US.

O’Neal likely saw significant returns on his investment in the Kings, which spanned around nine years. WynnBet must be paying him major money to convince him to sell his Kings stock. In our previous story on the subject, we shared more details about the size of O’Neal’s Kings investment.

Photo: Mar 10, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; NBA former player Shaquille O’Neal watches a game between the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors in the third quarter at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 105-99. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports