With Robert Sarver selling the Phoenix Suns, Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is set to join billionaire Jeff Bezos in buying the NBA franchise. According to sources, Bob Iger may also buy a stake.
The Suns owner was suspended for one year and fined $10 million following a workplace misconduct investigation involving Sarver. Last Wednesday, Sarver announced his decision to sell the team.
According to a few NBA betting sites, the Suns have 5 odds to win the championship in the 2022-23 season. Find out which sportsbooks are down a year.
In late September, Shaquille O’Neal expressed interest in purchasing Sarver’s stake in the company. However, the Lakers legend backtracked after learning that Bezos was planning to bid on the team as well.
Of course, Sarver bought Sun from Jerry Colangelo in 2004 for $401 million. Forbes expects the franchise to sell for $2.5 billion.
In an interview with TMZ, O’Neal estimated his net worth at around $400 million. While still rich, that amount is not nearly enough next to Bezos and Iger’s bank accounts. As of October 2022, Bezos’ net worth is $138.6 billion.
As for Iger, his net worth in 2022 is $690 million. In the year In December 2021, the multi-millionaire expressed interest in buying solar.
Shaquille O’Neal Could Join Jeff Bezos in Bid on Phoenix Suns
However, both Iger and O’Neal seem to face an uphill battle if they want to buy an NBA team. And that’s because Bezos is better than both of them.
Per BetOnline, Iger bets on Bezos’ second-best odds (+300) to become the next owner of the Suns. After the Shaq news, the sportsbook list may receive an update.
“No one on this planet can compete with Big Man JB,” Shaquille O’Neal told TMZ earlier this week. “You know what? I ordered 50 things from Amazon today. Big Man JB got that money!”
“If he wants me on board, I’d be happy to talk to him,” O’Neill continued. But as far as trying to own a whole team by myself and try to go against it – let me tell you something, I’m in awe of Big Man JB. Shaq O’Neal is scared of Big Man JB!”
Everyone should be concerned. In March 2021, the NFL signed an 11-year deal with television networks for exclusive streaming access to Amazon Prime for Thursday Night Football. The contract is worth at least 100 billion dollars.
Shaquille O’Neal can still make a bid to buy the Suns. But he himself said that his expectations of becoming a majority owner are low. Jeff Bezos, a student at Princeton University, is the third richest person on the planet.
Bezos trails only Elon Musk ($250 billion) and Gautam Adani ($156 billion).
In addition to owning Amazon, Bezos bought the Washington Post for $250 million in 2013. He is also the founder of a spaceflight company known as Blue Origin.
Bezos owns companies like Audible, AWS Elemental, Digital Photography Review, IMDB, Twitch Interactive, Whole Foods Market, Zappos and many others.
It’s like watching one annoying player hold everything on a Monopoly board.
