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After joining Reebok as its president of basketball last week, Shaquille O’Neal is already making waves with his first athlete signing.
On Tuesday, Reebok announced it signed LSU women’s basketball star Angel Reese to an official partnership — the brand’s first major NIL signing.
“I am honored to be working closely with one of my longtime mentors, Shaq, along with a brand that I have admired since I was just a little kid,” Reese said in a statement. “It means the world to me that they trust in me to extend their legacy to a new generation.
Reese and O’Neal both played basketball at LSU, where the former won a national title last season and is returning for her senior season.
“For my first appointment in this role, it had to be the GOAT,” said O’Neal. “There is no one making a bigger impact on the game right now than Angel Reese.”
Reese has proven to be an NIL deal magnet since her transfer to LSU in 2022. The 21-year-old has more NIL deals than any college basketball player, male or female, in the country and currently ranks seventh in On3’s NIL rankings with an NIL valuation of $1.7 million.
Since being acquired by Authentic Brands Group for $2.5 billion in 2021, Reebok has been attempting to come back in the sports apparel market. Its basketball division is under the leadership of O’Neal and fellow Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, and the brand also has Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields under contract.
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