Shaquille O’Neal Takes the Taste Test, Picks Pepsi

Shaquille O’Neal, the hottest new star in the National Basketball Assn., has put another endorsement deal in the refrigerator.

Pepsi-Cola Co. announced Sunday that it has signed the towering Orlando Magic center to a five-year “multimillion-dollar” deal, but would not disclose specific terms. O’Neal already has commercial endorsement contracts with several companies, including shoemaker Reebok and Kenner Parker Toys, that are expected to net him as much as $30 million. The 20-year-old phenom will also be paid $40 million over the next seven years by the Orlando team.

Signing the 7-foot-1-inch O’Neal was an apparent coup for Pepsi; for months there was speculation that he would sign with Coca-Cola.

In its statement, Pepsi did not say how the deal with “The Shaq,” as O’Neal is called, would affect its current advertising campaign featuring singer Ray Charles and the “Uh-Huh Girls.” But in his statement, the 300-pound O’Neal took a cue from Charles and said he expected his relationship with Pepsi “to be a very creative, long-lasting association. Uh-Huh!”