Did shaq play football ? It is no longer surprising to learn about NBA players having relatively successful football careers in their childhoods. Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James both have some history with the game. However, the latest NBA star to join this bandwagon might just surprise some. NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he himself used to play football, in a very interesting position given his physique.

O’Neal was a dominant force on the hardwood for as long as he played, both in the NBA and during his college days. When one thinks of O’Neal, the first thought that comes to mind is his height. Standing at 7’1″, he towered over opponents, as they hopelessly tried to snatch the ball from him. It is probably this fact about him that will have some fans confused as to why he played football in a particular position.

Shaquille O’Neal used to play as a tight end back in his school days

Speaking on ‘I AM ATHLETE’, Shaq revealed what made him switch from football to basketball in high school. He says, “I was ya’ll. I was football. I was a tight end, I was just like you. And then John Koncak, he was making 15 for three… And I was like this mo********er’s making… 15 divided by 3, he making five million. I can do that, and that’s how I got in, that’s how I started playing basketball.”

Shaq also goes on to reveal that his favorite NFL team is the Dallas Cowboys, is because he wanted to be the next “Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones”. When asked by a co-host if he had a growth spurt, Shaq revealed that he was 6’9″ during high school itself. It must have been a terrifying experience for all those kids to play against Shaq.

Shaq was a force to reckon with in the NBA during his playing days

Even if one hasn’t watched Shaq play basketball, one look at his achievements will leave no doubt about his greatness. The 4x NBA Champion was also the MVP in three of those games. He is also a 15x NBA All-Star, 8x NBA First Team, and an Olympic Gold winner. Truly, it seems he had nothing left to achieve in basketball before he eventually retired in 2011.

Shaq now owns numerous businesses all over America and has shares in many massive companies such as Google, Apple, PepsiCo, etc. He is also performing as a DJ since 2021, under the stage name ‘DIESEL’. Apart from that, Shaq is also involved in numerous philanthropic activities and has aided in the creation of multiple “technology centers” across the nation.

Shaq was at LSU when Koncak inked his deal

The story would have ended there, but looking closer at the details, Shaquille O’Neal was already sleeping in the LSU dormitories as a college freshman when Koncak signed his deal in September 1989. O’Neal played college ball from the 1989-90 season to the 1991-92 campaign before coming out early to enter the NBA Draft.

Having said that, it could be possible that there were already rumors that Koncak could be getting a massive deal before Shaq entered LSU. Or maybe O’Neal mistook Koncak for another player who got an enormous deal that year. Either way, Shaq played football in high school before transitioning to basketball, and that was the correct decision. Not only did Shaq find success on the basketball court, he also made a fortune out of playing in the NBA.

Shaq made an estimated $286 million from his NBA contracts and much more in endorsement money after becoming a larger-than-life figure in basketball. Today, O’Neal has an estimated net worth of $450 million.

Shaquille O’Neal’s thoughts on the Super Bowl and his Cowboys

Shaq has been very vocal about his Dallas Cowboys and what he thinks the team should do next if they want to make it to the Super Bowl, and that’s make a coaching change.

He thinks Jerry Jones should hire former Cowboys great Deion Sanders, who now coaches at Jackson State.

Shaq has been making a lot of noise about lately the Cowboys, especially since they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the San Fransicio 49ers.

But since that won’t be happening again this year, he is throwing a HUGE party in L.A. where the game is taking place, and it’s open to the public.

Maybe, one day, Shaq will be able to celebrate the Cowboys being in the Super Bowl again.

Patriots’ Shaquille Olajuwon Mason explains the story behind his name

Shaq Mason may be a football player, but he has basketball to thank for his name.

The 6-foot-1, 300-pound offensive lineman – born Shaquille Olajuwon Mason – is named after NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon.

“I was born in 1993, so that was around (Shaquille O’Neal)’s prime. My mom was a huge Shaq fan, and she also liked Hakeem Olajuwon. She just gave me the first and middle names of them,” Mason explained Saturday after the New England Patriots selected him with the 131st pick of the draft.

Mason dabbled in basketball as a kid, but stopped playing when he was in the 10th grade.

“I played stretch four kind of, handled the ball a little bit, but was also big, so I was always in the paint,” he said. “I had a little guard to my game, if you will.”

Shaq Wilson lands NFL job

Former South Carolina linebacker Shaq Wilson, who had been serving as a defensive analyst in the program, has been hired as the New York Jets assistant defensive line coach, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Wilson, who has been at South Carolina in various capacities for over a decade, has been in his analyst role for each of Shane Beamer’s two seasons in Columbia.

In the three years prior to that, Wilson was an assistant director of football sports performance at Tennessee.

Wilson had previously held off-field roles for five seasons with the Gamecocks, according to his GamecocksOnline bio.

Following his playing career, he worked as a graduate assistant in 2013 before moving into a full-time role as the quality control coordinator for the defense in 2014.

He later held the titles of assistant director for recruiting (2016) and then assistant director of football player personnel (2017).

Originally from Jacksonville, Fla., Wilson signed with the Gamecocks in the 2008 class out of First Coast High School.

Wilson was considered a four-star prospect by ESPN and a high three-star by Rivals with the On3 Industry Ranking, which averages the two, considering him the No. 27 linebacker in his class.

The 2012 South Carolina graduate earned a degree in African-American/Black Studies and was a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker (2008-09, 2011-12), serving as a team captain as a senior.

Wilson finished his Carolina career with 246 total tackles, including 15.0 tackles-for-loss and 4.0 sacks as well as four interceptions.

Wilson talked about his decision to commit to South Carolina during an episode of the BLEAV podcast last year.

“I came up here and got that offer my 11th grade year,” Wilson said. “A guy from my high school got offered and signed with South Carolina, Jamir Williams. He was big time.

Had (offers from) Ohio State, Florida, Florida State… Once you get around your guys and you come on those unofficial visits and then those official visits you’re like, ‘okay, I can work with these dudes’… Everybody from Florida, they were top guys, everybody was winning in high school. I’m like we got dudes and I want to win. I wanna go do it with them.”

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