Shaquille O'Neal ex-wife Shaunie encourages daughter Me'Arah to leverage NIL deals before pursuing WNBA career

Shaquille O'Neal and his ex-wife Shaunie Handerson have been co-parenting their daughter Me'Arah. Given Shaq's fame in and outside the NBA, their daughter has been able to get deals that pay her handsome money.

Me'Arah is still in college and plays for the Florida Gators. Her mother, Shaunie, is in no rush to see her daughter in the WNBA. Her opinion is completely based on how much Me'Arah can make in college.

In a conversation with TMZ Sports, Shaunie highlighted that women college athletes make more money than WNBA players. Shaquille O'Neal’s former wife said that she wanted her daughter to make a large sum through NIL money. Last year, college athletes made $917 million in total through deals alone.

"For the women, for sure, hold on to your college career and NIL money," O'Neal told us at LAX.

"The more I look into it, the more I see these WNBA players are doing multiple things just to make that kinda money,” Shaunie added. "I think those college students who are able to get these NIL deals, ride it until the wheels fall off!”

College athletes making more money than WNBA players is not a surprising statement from Shaunie Handerson. When Shaquille O'Neal took over as the president of Reebok Basketball, the sports company signed Angel Reese, a college basketball player from LSU. Reese makes around $1.7 million from her NIL deals alone, which is way higher than the average salary of a WNBA player, which is $241k.

Shaquille O'Neal’s youngest daughter is one of the best college athletes in America and, according to Shaq, the best in his family. Despite getting offers from different colleges, Me'arah chose to sign with Florida Gators instead of LSU, her father’s alma mater.

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Shaquille O'Neal daughter Me'Arah speaks on her mother Shaunie’s support in her life

Shaquille O'Neal was one of the most-watched college athletes when he was still at LSU. He was even considered by the USA team to join them in the Olympics while he was still in college. Given the legacy Shaq has at LSU, many expected his daughter Me'Arah O'Neal to sign with Shaq’s alma mater.

However, to the surprise of many, last year, Me'Arah chose Florida Gators to pursue her further education and her basketball career. She had offers from several schools, which included LSU. However, Shaq's daughter wants to write her own history on her own terms.

Me'Arah spoke in detail about the biggest support she got from her family, especially her father, Shaquille O'Neal, and mother, Shaunie Handerson.

"He sacrificed a light just for me to play basketball. My mom as well, you know she's a busy woman but she still sacrifices a lot and she's at pretty much almost every single one of my games,” said Me'Arah.

Me'Arah O'Neal played for Episcopal High School before she made her decision to join Florida. She also got a big surprise from her parents after she signed with Florida Gators. Shaquille O'Neal and his wife surprised their daughter with a Range Rover.