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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson once clashed on the court in the 2001 NBA Finals, but now the basketball legends are joining forces to revive the Reebok brand they helped make iconic.
In the Netflix docuseries, “Power Moves,” which premiered this week, the Hall of Famers swap jerseys for executive titles, with O’Neal stepping in as president of Reebok Basketball while Iverson takes on the role as vice president. The six-episode series offers a behind-the-scenes look at their mission to spark a cultural resurgence for the classic sneaker company.
O’Neal, standing 7-foot-1, sees himself as a voice for today’s big men. But when it comes to reaching the quick, gritty guards of this generation, he knows there’s no better ambassador than the 6-foot Iverson, whose ’90s signature shoes are still a staple in sneakerhead circles.
“I didn’t build Reebok all by myself,” said O’Neal, who won three straight NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and another with the Miami Heat. He signed with Reebok in 1992 and made the brand popular with his first signature shoe, called the Shaq Attaq.
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Iverson’s signature shoes, The Question and The Answer, were some of the top sellers in the industry. He signed a lifetime endorsement and marketing contract with Reebok in 2001.
“I needed A.I. to be vice president because if you’re a guard, you want to see a legendary guard,” he said. “I wanted to do a show that’s not scripted. Not polished. I wanted it to be real work.”
Iverson called documenting his role in helping revitalize Reebok a “full circle moment” while working alongside O’Neal, who he calls “big bro.”
“I get the honor of doing this with (Shaq), having a relationship with him,” said Iverson, the former Philadelphia 76ers guard, who was an 11-time All-Star and won the league’s MVP in 2001 — the same year O’Neal and Iverson faced off in the NBA Finals. Iverson was known for being an undersized guard who played with a supersized heart.
“The type of things I learn from him — on and off the court. He’s just a beautiful guy,” Iverson said about O’Neal. “He stands up to his faults. The things that he felt he did wrong in life. The way he treats his mom. All that resembles who I am. That makes this special.”
Reebok, founded in 1895, became a household name in the early 1990s, thanks to Boston Celtics guard Dee Brown and his iconic Pump sneakers. The brand took off from there inking major deals with O’Neal and Iverson, partnering with the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, and even stepping into hip-hop with signature lines for Jay-Z and 50 Cent’s G-Unit.
But Reebok’s cultural momentum began to fade after Nike doubled down on star power with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Adidas bought the company for $3.8 billion in 2006, aiming to better compete with Nike on a global scale.
Instead, Reebok struggled to find its footing, gradually losing its identity in both sports and style.
“Now it’s time for us to get Reebok back to prominence,” said O’Neal, who played a key role in Reebok’s acquisition in 2021 by Authentic Brands Group, where he is a shareholder. “There’s all these competitive brands, which is fine. It makes the job harder. But for me, it’s all about motivation and trying to build.”
“Power Moves” dives into Reebok’s strategy for staying relevant, including signing rising stars like WNBA phenom Angel Reese to the brand’s first name, image and likeness (NIL) deal. The series also shows how O’Neal leans on a surprising source for insight into today’s athletes through his son, Shareef.
Shaq was initially set on creating high-top sneakers, until a visit to a massive Amateur Athletic Union tournament — with nearly 70 courts — sparked a shift. Shareef pulled his dad aside and explained that low tops are the go-to for this generation. It was a lightbulb moment that helped Shaq better understand and connect with modern players.
“I had to realize that my way is not always the right way,” Shaq said. “Sometimes, the best way to be an effective leader is listening to the ones who are really in the trenches.”
Iverson believes he and Shaq can help Reebok bounce back by paying forward the same support and opportunity the brand once gave them.
“We’re going to show our love to the brand that showed us love,” he said. “We’re putting our efforts into what they did in my life. Reebok took care of my family, my friends, me. It was a power move. We’re here to bring it back.”
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Dec. 22, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
Some Tennessee football players will negotiate a raise in NIL pay after overperforming in the 2025 season.
Those discussions have become part of the college football calendar in this era of frequent player movement, and money is a driving force in big decisions.
Negotiations likely started long before No. 23 Tennessee (8-4) plays Illinois (8-4) in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). And they’ll continue when the transfer portal opens on Jan. 2.
The top players with eligibility remaining consider declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft. Some players consider testing the transfer market by entering the portal. And overperforming players hope to cash in with a pay raise from their school.
Since July, schools have been allowed to pay athletes directly with revenue shares, essentially a royalty for use of their name, image and likeness. Players can earn additional money in third-party NIL pay from collectives, corporations and business owners.
Some players get raises. Other players get pay cuts.

Schools pay players directly under a salary cap of sorts. The payroll works out to about $13.5 million for each college football team, or approximately $170,000 per scholarship player. Those distributions and payroll strategies vary between teams.
And third-party NIL pay can double the earnings of the best players.
None of that payroll information is available to the public, which means it’s impossible to know whether a player is overpaid, underpaid or fairly paid. But it’s reasonable to believe their pay corresponds to their projected level of play.
And if they exceed those expectations, a raise is in order. With that being said, let’s take an educated guess at which players have increased their value.
No Tennessee player has increased his value over the past year as much as running back DeSean Bishop. In January, the former Karns High standout was promoted from walk-on to scholarship player. That likely didn’t come with a big NIL payday because he wasn’t even a starter yet.
But Bishop earned that scholarship, and then some, in the 2025 season. He was named All-SEC second team after rushing for 983 yards and 14 TDs in the regular season. If Bishop wasn’t paid NIL this season, he certainly will next season. And if he was paid this season, it likely didn’t align with an all-conference season.
Braylon Staley showed promise heading into the 2025 season, but he was unproven. That quickly changed when he played well in UT’s biggest games and earned SEC Freshman of the Year with 64 receptions, 806 yards and six TDs.
UT may have already paid Staley a solid NIL amount. After all, he was a four-star recruit and top 100 player coming out of high school. But it’s doubtful that Staley was paid like one of the SEC’s top receivers, which he clearly now is.
This one is debatable, but leverage could come into play. Wendell Moe was a solid pick-up in the portal in 2025, but he turned into an AP All-SEC performer.
It’s difficult to predict how much UT paid Moe in the 2025 season without knowing the transfer market for his position. If he was coveted by multiple teams, Moe may have been paid well and simply played to that level.
But now Moe has proven to be a good SEC offensive lineman and potential NFL draft prospect. That could land him at least a moderate NIL raise to return in 2026.
In the 2024 class, offensive lineman Jesse Perry was rated fifth among five offensive linemen signed by Tennessee, according to 247Sports Composite. He was a three-star recruit.
NIL pay doesn’t always correspond to recruit ratings. But Perry’s moderate grades indicate that he had to prove his value on the field before earning a notable NIL check.
Perry did that in the 2025 season. He started 11 games, including seven at right tackle and four at right guard, and earned Freshman All-America honors.
Granted, his future NIL pay will depend on whether he’s a surefire starter or a versatile backup, but Perry is certainly in a stronger position than a year ago.
Like Perry, cornerback Ty Redmond probably entered the 2025 season with a low NIL value and had to prove himself. In the 2025 class, Redmond was rated fourth among five defensive backs signed by Tennessee, according to 247Sports Composite. He was a three-star recruit.

But Redmond, after some early growing pains, turned into a promising young cornerback. He was an All-SEC third-team selection and Freshman All-SEC performer. He tied for the SEC lead with 13 passes defended and led the Vols with three interceptions.
Regardless of what Redmond earned in 2025, he is in a stronger position after his freshman season.
This one is more speculative than the rest on this list. After all, edge rusher Jordan Ross was a five-star signee in the 2024 class, so he may already command high pay in NIL money based on his recruit rating.
That being said, Ross is on this list because of his play, his position and his perceived essential status in new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ defensive scheme. Knowles values edge rushers, and Ross is UT’s most dynamic.
Before being slowed by injuries, Ross showed flashes as a playmaker in the mold of former UT edge rushers Byron Young, James Pearce and Joshua Josephs. He had three tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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The No. 10 seed Miami Hurricanes defeated the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies 10-3 in the first round of the College Football Playoff. It was a defensive battle, ultimately decided by a late fourth-quarter score and red-zone interception by Miami.
With the score tied at 3 and 1 minute, 44 seconds left in the game, Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass thrown by quarterback Carson Beck.
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Up next for the Hurricanes is a Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic matchup against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes. It’s an uphill battle, as ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Hurricanes a 29.5% chance of winning.
Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (10).© Robert Myers-Imagn Images
Before his heroic performance, though, the wide receiver revealed an exciting Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) update. In a joint Instagram post, Toney revealed a new NIL partnership with Hellstar, a popular clothing brand that has a sports training component.
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“We are so proud to announce our first Hellstar Sports College Athlete NIL signing – Malachi Toney🌟.,” the post caption read. “We had the privilege to coach @malitoney10 while he was apart of our high school 7 on 7 program, so now seeing him shine on the collegiate level we couldn’t be more proud.”
Toney’s On3 NIL valuation of $878,000 is the 12th-highest among college football wide receivers. Among players on Miami, it’s the fourth-highest, behind quarterback Carson Beck ($3.1 million), EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. ($1.2 million) and offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa ($1.1 million).
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Through 14 games, Toney has been a major contributor to Miami’s success. He leads the team in receptions (89), yards (992) and touchdowns (eight).
With an exciting NIL opportunity under his belt, he and Miami look to stay hot against Ohio State. Kickoff is Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium, airing on ESPN and streaming on the ESPN app.
Related: Texas Receives Clear Message From Nation’s No. 2 WR Amid Intense Recruiting Battle
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
In the growing landscape of college athletics, Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals play a vital role in sports. Some programs are set up better than others based on a program’s valuation. Programs with higher valuations can help some of the top-performing teams stay successful.
CNBC released its valuation rankings for the country’s athletic departments, showing their growth from the 2024 fiscal year. The Colorado Buffaloes are ranked No. 47 in the nation, a rise from No. 55 in 2024.

Colorado’s 2025 valuation is $574 million, with a year-over-year value change of 22 percent. The program’s 2024 revenue is set at $147 million, with a 16 percent year-over-year revenue change.
A program’s valuation determines its monetary worth, and it is important to look at the growth, which shows that Colorado is trending in the right direction. It is also important to note that the valuation rankings are based on all of the athletics, not just the football program.

When focusing on the Big 12 conference, several of the programs are in the same vicinity with their valuation ranking.
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While from the top valuation of Kansas to the bottom, which is Houston is a significant difference in the Big 12, the conference teams are still in a similar vicinity overall. With it having to do with all athletics, the programs that have consistently strong teams, such as Kansas’ basketball team, make sense to have a higher valuation.

Looking at the Big 12 as a whole shows that the Colorado Buffaloes are in the top five for their valuation and trending upward.
While valuation is not the same as revenue, seeing the difference in the conferences does call back to Colorado coach Deion Sanders’ comments on the fairness between programs. The schools in the top five for their valuation are either in the Big Ten or the SEC, and all are in the billions.
“You talk about equality,” Sanders said during the Big 12 media day. “All you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent, and you understand darn near why they’re in the playoffs. It’s kind of hard to compete with somebody who’s giving $25, $30 million to a darn freshman class.”

Although the valuation is on the programs’ overall athletics, Sanders has been outspoken about money when it comes to building the football program. With the Buffaloes facing a mass exodus through the transfer portal, Sanders has highlighted that several players are leaving because of money.
The positive side is that the Buffaloes’ valuation is growing with a 22 percent increase. This shows that the school’s athletics overall are being valued higher, and will help lead to more money poured into the program. With more money, the Buffaloes can put more of an emphasis on NIL as they look to build their roster and compete in the Big 12.
From a player retention standpoint, the first few weeks of the offseason haven’t been kind to the Colorado Buffaloes.
Several key Buffs have announced their intentions to enter the college football transfer portal when it opens next month, including wide receiver Omarion Miller, safety Tawfiq Byard and freshman defensive end Alexander McPherson. While every situation is unique, one Colorado insider believes money has been a common denominator among players’ reasons for leaving Boulder.

“The super majority of those people, I’m talking 95 percent, are going to be leaving for a bigger bag,” Thee Pregame Show’s Uncle Neely said on his YouTube channel. “This ain’t transferring in 1990. This ain’t transferring in the year 2000. This is 2025. This is business now. This isn’t, ‘Oh, I don’t like the coach. Oh, I don’t want to be treated the way they treat me.’
“This doesn’t mean something is wrong. These are business decisions now. But what we like to do is run with the narrative that woe is me, something must be wrong, something must be going on. How are all these people leaving?”

The NIL (name, image and likeness) era has rocked college football, and the depressing truth is that schools with more money will ultimately land the best players. In the Big 12, no school better exemplifies that trend than new conference champion Texas Tech.

As of Sunday, 16 Colorado players will enter the transfer portal next month. That group includes 12 defensive players, six members of the Buffs’ 2025 high school signing class and a few other Buffs who spent only one season in Boulder.
Below is an updated list of Colorado players who plan on entering the transfer portal:

Uncle Neely shared his take that Colorado’s losses should be replaceable via the transfer portal.
“Have you ever stopped to say, what am I actually losing by those people leaving?” Uncle Neely said. “Have you ever looked at the numbers production-wise of who has announced that they’re getting up out of here and what you’re actually losing by them leaving?… Is it replaceable via the portal? And in this business in college football, is it replaceable cheaper? I would wager to say the answer is yes in all regards.”
MORE: Colorado Gets Hit With Biggest Transfer Portal Loss Yet
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The college football transfer portal will open on Jan. 2 and close Jan. 16. Colorado coach Deion Sanders and his staff can begin adding players from the portal at the start of that period.
Lane Kiffin is bringing another Ole Miss assistant with him to LSU. According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, the Tigers have finalized a deal to hire Rebels running backs coach Kevin Smith for the same role.
Smith is reported to have a salary of close to $1 million, which would make him one of the highest-paid running backs coaches in the country. He is the sixth Ole Miss assistant to follow Kiffin to Baton Rouge.
The other coaches joining Kiffin at LSU are offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., tight ends coach Joe Cox, receivers coach Joe McDonald, inside receivers coach Sawyer Jordan and quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens. So far no defensive assistants from the Rebels have made the jump to Baton Rouge.
Smith worked with Kiffin as a running backs coach at Florida Atlantic form 2017-19 and joined his very first staff at Ole Miss in 2020. He stayed for the next two seasons in Oxford before leaving to take the running backs coach position at Miami in 2022.
Smith’s stint with the Hurricanes was a short-lived one as he returned to Ole Miss in 2023 and stayed through this season. Now he’ll look to continue the success he has enjoyed with Kiffin while building up the running backs room at LSU.
Smith helped to develop running backs such as Quinshon Judkins and Kewan Lacy during his time in Oxford. This past season, Ole Miss ranked fifth in the SEC with 185.6 rushing yards per game as Lacy led the conference with 21 rushing touchdowns and ranked second with 1,366 yards.
Ole Miss had its best season in program history this year to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time. However, Kiffin was not granted permission from the school to finish out the season with the Rebels after he accepted the LSU job.
Other assistants, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., were allowed to complete the playoff run with Ole Miss. The Rebels defeated Tulane in the first round and will face No. 3 Georgia, which they lost to earlier this season, in the quarterfinals.
As of right now, it looks like most of the Ole Miss offensive staff will follow Kiffin to Baton Rouge. The defensive side keep defensive coordinator Blake Baker, who has been on staff at LSU since 2024.
The quarterback market is expected to be extremely competitive this offseason.
A ton of experienced signal-callers have announced their decisions to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, including Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, North Texas’ Drew Mestemaker, Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby, and TCU’s Josh Hoover, among countless others.
The right move can benefit young quarterbacks, as players such as USC’s Jayden Maiava and Oregon’s Dante Moore benefited from transferring early in their careers.
An offseason coaching change has led one former blue-chip recruit to explore his options in the portal.
On Sunday, Memphis true freshman quarterback Antwann “AJ” Hill announced his plans to leave the program after one season, per On3.
Hill appeared in two games in 2025, earning a redshirt. His most extensive action came in a 31-24 loss to UAB on October 18. Hill entered the contest after starting quarterback Brendon Lewis went down with an injury. In roughly two quarters of action, he completed 13/25 passes for 176 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.
On the season, Hill connected on 19/32 passes for 223 yards with 1 touchdown to 1 interception.
Hill is transferring after Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield was hired away by Arkansas. The Razorbacks don’t have a ton of depth at quarterback. Redshirt freshman KJ Jackson holds the most experience on the roster with five appearances and one start last season.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Arkansas is involved in Hill’s transfer recruitment.
Hill was one of the highest-ranked prospects in program history to sign with Memphis. He was regarded as the No. 15 QB and a top-200 recruit in the 2025 class. Hill chose the Tigers over Florida following official visits to both schools.
During his prep career at Houston County High School, Hill compiled over 11,000 passing yards and led his team to at least one playoff victory in all three seasons as a starter.
Overall, Hill completed 800-of-1239 passes for 11,020 yards with 123 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. He added six more scores on the ground.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound quarterback is expected to have four seasons of eligibility remaining.
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