Finally, Shaquille O’Neal is about to get off the hook. What started as a $750,000 promotion turned into a legal headache that’s about to cost him $1.8 million. Yes, the former NBA legend has agreed to settle claims for allegedly misleading investors while promoting the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. For Shaq, this might finally be the end of a legal fiasco that’s haunted him for years. But for some other big names tangled in this crypto drama? Their headaches are probably just getting started.The fall of FTX was a full-blown collapse. In late 2022, the crypto exchange crumbled after news broke that founder Sam Bankman-Fried had blown through billions in customer funds. The fallout was brutal. FTX filed for bankruptcy, and Bankman-Fried ended up behind bars on multiple fraud and conspiracy charges. But he didn’t go down alone. Big names like Shaq, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, David Ortiz, Gisele Bündchen, Shohei Ohtani, Naomi Osaka, Udonis Haslem, Larry David, and even Major League Baseball got dragged into the storm, if not bars. And if Adam Moskowitz has it right, the rest of those celebs might be in for a seriously rough ride. “Other celebrities wouldn’t even sit down with us,” he revealed. While Shaq had the good sense to settle, handing back $1.8 million, digesting a loss against a payment of $ 750 K, not everyone wanted a smooth ride. The others are still playing the avoidance game. And here’s the grim part. David Ortiz reportedly made around $271K, Naomi Osaka cleared over $ 308 K. But Brady and Curry, they allegedly raked in $55 million and $35 million.So in the near future, if the court rules against them, it won’t just be about returning promo money. They could lose way more than Shaq ever did. And while those numbers sound massive, they barely scratch the surface of what’s at stake here. According to the amended complaint, damages could top “tens of billions of dollars.” Yes, billions. Sadly, it’s an unfortunate reminder of how one bad decision can snowball into a disaster you’ll never be able to outrun.What Shaquille O’Neal and a victim revealed about the FTX chaosWhile the crypto empire crumbled behind the scenes by mismanaging customer funds and hiding losses the size of small nations’ budgets. Shaquille O’Neal was keeping his distance. Under U.S. securities law, you can’t just hop on TV and sell investment opportunities without playing by the rules. But many of those star-studded endorsements, frankly, didn’t. And while most celebrities ducked and weaved through the fallout, Shaq made a smart move; he settled.In 2022, O’Neal told CNBC he “was just a paid spokesperson for a commercial.” The man openly admitted he didn’t know the first thing about crypto, saying, “I don’t understand it, so I will probably stay away from it until I get a full understanding of what it is. From my experience, it is too good to be true.” It was one of the rare moments where a public figure simply said, “Yeah, I didn’t get it.” For victims, especially those left financially gutted, Shaq’s move brought at least a flicker of closure. Sunil Kavuri, who lost a jaw-dropping $2 million, said, “Settling with Shaquille O’Neal helps bring closure to the darkest period of our lives.”Imagine being swindled out of your future and seeing the people who helped sell the dream just move on like nothing happened. Shaq’s settlement might not fix that, but it sends a message. And for the other big names still pretending this storm won’t find them? Sooner or later, the bill comes due. And when it does, it might make Shaq’s $1.8 million look like pocket change.The post Bad News for Tom Brady & More as Judge Declares Verdict Amid Shaquille O’Neal’s FTX Settlement appeared first on EssentiallySports.