"How many seats in your theater?" - Shaquille O'Neal once spent $1400 to buy out movie theatre for his amusement
Apart being known for his dominance on the basketball court, Shaquille O'Neal is also known for his off-court investments and ventures.
In a Sports Illustrated article by Rick Reilly, O'Neal bought out an entire movie theater for his personal use, as he wanted to watch a movie all to himself.
"I bought every ticket, bro" O'Neal said. "I said, 'How many seats in your theater?' And the lady said, 'Two hundred.' And I said, 'I'll take 'em all! Seven bucks a ticket!'"
The article revealed that the movie theater cost him $1400. At the time, O'Neal had a $120 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, making the theater amount chump change for the big man.
When it comes to movies, O'Neal is no stranger, as he has starred in a couple of films at the height of his career. In 1996, the 15-time All-Star starred in a movie titled "Kazaam." The movie was heavily criticized for its lackluster story, production and direction. The film had a budget that amounted to $20 million but only garnered $18.9 million at the box office.
Nevertheless, according to Sportscasting's Joe Kozlowski, Shaquille O'Neal still earned $7 million from the movie deal. He has been in other films as well, like "Blue Chips" (1994), "Steel" (1997) and "Grown Ups 2" (2013).
Amidst ludicrous spending spree, Shaquille O'Neal was left with $1.5 million from first paycheck
During the 1996 free agency, Shaquille O'Neal signed a $121 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for seven years. It was an incredibly huge contract at the time as the NBA was moving into an era of superstars.
However, for O'Neal, that amount of money meant a spending spree was bound to happen. However, he wasn't familiar yet with the 50% tax deduction set in Los Angeles. That meant his first paycheck would be diluted to $10.5 million instead of the full $20 million, according to Basketball Network's Nicole Ganglani.
Before finding out about the tax deduction, the Lakers big man had already spent on three expensive cars (Rolls Royce) and was left with $1.5 million, as he flushed out $9 million in one go. Fortunately enough, his agent Perry Rogers informed O'Neal about the damage he was doing to his money.