Shaq expands Big Chicken, has location in Islanders $1.5 billion

Shaquille O’Neal once signed the richest contract in sports history and then went on to win four NBA titles. These days Shaq has a new business he’s trying to conquer: chicken sandwiches.  

O’Neal, who was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2016, is the co-owner of a restaurant venture called Big Chicken, which launched its first location three years ago in Las Vegas. Last year, a second opened in Glendale, California.

Now, O’Neal is focused on sports arenas, the type of venue he knows the best.

Big Chicken recently opened a location at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, home to the National Hockey League’s newest team, the Kraken. And on Thursday, O’Neal made a brief stop through New York to get a glimpse of UBS Arena, the new $1.5 billion home of the NHL’s New York Islanders.

Big Chicken will sell its fried chicken sandwiches inside UBS Arena during NHL games and other events at the complex. The Arena is located behind the track for the Belmont Stakes and is scheduled to host its first regular-season game on Nov. 20, when the Islanders play the Calgary Flames.

“Section 206,” O’Neal said, smiling into one of the many local TV cameras present to capture the promotional event. He was referring to the section where Big Chicken is located in the arena.

“This is my ritual,” he told CNBC, moments after the TV cameras departed. “Fried chicken with cheese, pickles and hot sauce.”

O’Neal started Big Chicken with his friend Matt Silverman, and agent Perry Rogers. It’s not his first foray into the food industry. O’Neal owns various Papa John’s locations, and even makes an appearance in a commercial for the pizza chain. In 2019, he joined the company’s board.

But this task is a much different one for O’Neal, because he’s starting the brand from scratch.

At UBS Arena on Thursday, O’Neal was joined by Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky. In honor of Veterans Day, they took photos with military personnel, and then stood in an unfurnished suite to watch a chef make items that will appear on Big Chicken’s menu. O’Neal joked about not knowing all of hockey’s rules, but said he watches NHL games.

One of the sandwiches on the Big Chicken menu is called Uncle Jerome, named after O’Neal’s uncle. Another is called Charles Barkley, an nod to the former NBA star and O’Neal’s broadcasting partner on “Inside the NBA.” Barkley’s namesake sandwich comes with mac and cheese on top of the chicken, along with crispy onions and “Shaq sauce.”

Big Chicken also features the MDE, which stands for most dominant ever, and is meant to describe O’Neal’s career at center, primarily for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was first-team all NBA eight times and finals most valuable player three times.

In 1996, shortly after his arrival in L.A. from Orlando, the Lakers recognized O’Neal’s dominance. The team signed him to a seven-year, $120 million…