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O'Neal signs $100 million deal with Heat
Shaquille O'Neal signed a five-year, 100 million U.S. dollar contract with the Miami Heat on Tuesday, on the first day of the NBA's player-movement window, the start of which was delayed while the new six-year collective bargaining agreement was being completed. The deal gives the 12-time National Basketball Association All-Star center security he wanted while not draining all the team's resources and also ensures the three-time MVP of the NBA Finals remains the player with the highest annual salary in the NBA. "We wanted to make sure that Shaquille was being compensated well into his career," O'Neal's agent, Perry Rogers, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. "We also wanted to make sure he was paid his value. And it was important the Heat had flexibility they need in the short-term to win a championship," Gogers added. O'Neal was vacationing Tuesday in Rome. Heat doctors will fly there Wednesday to administer a physical. "This contract allows me to address all of my family's long-term financial goals while allowing the Heat the ability to acquire those players that we need to win a championship," O'Neal said in a statement released by the team. Heat president Pat Riley said signing O'Neal was the team's top priority this offseason. Earlier Tuesday, O'Neal opted out of the final year of his existing deal, one that would have paid him $30.6 million this coming season.
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