Shaquille O’Neal Settles NFT Lawsuit With $11 Million Payment

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has agreed to pay $11 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over his promotion of the failed Astrals NFT project. A Florida federal judge approved the settlement on April 1, with the order becoming public just this week on April 8, according to court documents. The lawsuit, first filed in May 2023, claimed O’Neal promoted the sale of unregistered securities through the Solana-based Astrals NFT collection. Investors who bought Astrals NFTs or the project’s GLXY tokens between May 2022 and January 15, 2024, will now be eligible for compensation from the settlement fund.

Judge Federico Moreno previously acknowledged that plaintiffs had made a plausible case that the former NBA star acted as a seller under securities law. The settlement comes after months of legal back-and-forth, with O’Neal reaching an agreement with plaintiffs last November. Shaq actively promoted the tokens, calling himself “Astrals Chief Astronaut.” But after the FTX collapse in November 2022, the project’s reputation took a hit, and token sales slowed significantly.

The court approved $2.9 million in attorney fees and related costs as part of the settlement package. Judge Moreno ruled these fees were “fair and reasonable,” and noted that none of the plaintiffs objected to the amount lawyers would receive. The lawyers were able to convince the court that investors lost their money because of O’Neal’s marketing campaigns for the project. Court papers indicate that O’Neal urged potential investors to “hop on the wave before it’s too late,” something that came to haunt him in court.

Astrals were released in April 2022, providing 10,000 one-of-a-kind 3D avatars designed by artist Damien Guimoneau. The venture presented itself as a fully immersive metaverse experience through which users would be able to interact with other users as well as with O’Neal himself. Despite the star power behind it, the collection has shown zero signs of activity over the past two years. O’Neal reportedly continued to support the project publicly even after the major cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in November 2022.

The court did throw O’Neal one small victory, dismissing claims that he was a “control person” within the project—a designation that would have suggested he held actual power over its operations rather than just serving as its famous face. The settlement comes as the broader NFT market struggles to regain its former glory. This downward trend has been ongoing, with trading volumes falling by more than 60% in February alone. The drop continues a slide that began in early 2024, suggesting the once-hot digital collectibles market remains in a prolonged slump.