BY MICHAEL WALLACE
MiamiHerald.com
Forced to divulge his financial expenditures as part of his ongoing divorce proceedings, the Heat's Shaquille O'Neal indicated in court papers recently he earns $1.8 million a month, but spends more than half of it on expenses.
According to court documents, he estimates he has $875,000 in monthly expenses, which includes $110,505 on monthly vacations; $60,417 on gifts; $23,950 on clothes, dry cleaning and laundry; $46,500 on child care; $24,300 on gas and oil for four vehicles; $12,775 on food; and $468,345 on three home mortgages. On top of that, O'Neal pays nearly $500,000 a month in income taxes.
In the court documents dated Jan. 16, O'Neal itemized a list of expenses as massive as his 7-1, 325-pound frame. O'Neal, who earns $20 million a season from the Heat, said he brings in $1.6 million a month in basketball salary in addition to roughly $220,000 from business investments.
O'Neal filed 13 pages of financial information in Miami-Dade court documents as part of his response to a motion filed by his estranged wife. O'Neal filed for divorce in September to end his marriage of five years to Shaunie O'Neal. The couple has four children together and each has another child from a previous relationship.
The divorce proceedings have come during the most difficult season of O'Neal's 16-year career. He has missed nine of the past 13 games with inflammation in his left hip and thigh, an injury that will keep him out of action for at least another two weeks and possibly for the season.
He also is averaging a career-low 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds this season for the Heat (8-33), which has the worst record in the Eastern Conference and has lost 15 consecutive games -- two shy of matching the franchise record.
O'Neal has said his off-the-court issues have been difficult, but that he would keep those matters private.
''It's something that I won't discuss now, won't discuss 10 years from now, won't discuss ever,'' O'Neal said earlier this season. ``If I ever do have a bad game or a bad couple of games, I won't blame it on that. It's something that I obviously have to deal with and I'm going to deal with it the best way possible.''
WTF!!!
1.8 million a month income and only spends half of that on expenses.
I guess now we know he is not going to retire and give back the $40mil left in his contract...
LINKY
EDIT title...
