Trading Secrets - 310. Shaq Moore: World Cup Money, MLS Salaries, Playing Messi & The Business of Soccer

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

This week, Jason is joined by professional soccer player, FC Dallas defender, US Men’s National Team player, Gold Cup champion, World Cup participant, and founder of the Shaq Moore Foundation, Shaq Moore, for a conversation about the business of professional soccer, the financial realities of playing overseas, World Cup pressure, MLS salaries, and building a lasting career in a sport that continues to grow in the United States. Shaq reflects on realizing at a young age that soccer could become his career, and how attending the 2010 World Cup helped fully shift his focus back to the sport. With a father who also played professionally, Shaq grew up around the game, but his path was far from traditional. As a teenager, he left the United States to pursue his dream in Spain, where he spent years grinding through lower divisions, learning the language, and fighting for every opportunity. Jason and Shaq dive into the financial side of that journey, including what it was like earning roughly 800 to 900 euros per month early in his career, dealing with teams that went months without paying players, and learning how to live on a budget while chasing a professional dream. Shaq opens up about the uncertainty of playing overseas, the role agents play in protecting young athletes, and why those difficult early years shaped him both personally and professionally. Shaq also breaks down how soccer contracts work, including transfer fees, buyout clauses, bonuses, incentives, and what it means when a player is sent on loan. He explains the business behind his move back to MLS, his reported transfer to Nashville SC, and how returning to the United States helped position him for a potential World Cup opportunity. The conversation also explores Shaq’s experience with the US Men’s National Team, from winning the Gold Cup and scoring the fastest goal in USMNT history to getting called into a World Cup qualifying window while vacationing on an island. Shaq shares what it was like being thrown into one of the most important games of qualifying, eventually making the 2022 World Cup roster, and playing against England and Iran on the world stage. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, Jason and Shaq discuss the state of the US team, the pressure of playing on home soil, World Cup ticket prices, player bonuses, endorsements, and how making a World Cup roster can change an athlete’s brand and financial future. Shaq also gives his thoughts on the US group, possible contenders, and what it is really like playing against Lionel Messi. Beyond the field, Shaq opens up about financial planning as a professional athlete, budgeting for a career with an uncertain shelf life, working with a financial advisor, investing for the future, and learning from the stories of athletes who made millions but struggled after their playing careers ended. Shaq also shares the work he is doing through the Shaq Moore Foundation, including youth soccer clinics, food drives, community initiatives, and opportunities for kids in Fort Lauderdale and Trinidad and Tobago. He reflects on fatherhood, life in Dallas, future coaching goals, and the importance of staying grounded through every stage of the journey. From grinding in Spain for less than $1,000 a month to representing the United States on the World Cup stage, Shaq reveals what it really takes to stay the course, survive setbacks, and build a career in professional soccer. Shaq reveals all this and so much more in another episode you can’t afford to miss! Subscribe to the Trading Secrets podcast! Host: Jason Tartick Audio: John Gurney Video: Marc Colcer Guest: Shaq Moore Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. Today we are joined by someone who has lived one of the most unique career paths in American soccer, Shaq Moore. Right back for FC Dallas, U.S. Men's National Team Defender in 2022 Gold Cup champion, World Cup participant, and founder of the Shack Moore Foundation. Shaq left the United States as a teenager to carve out a professional career in Spain. Eight years abroad, learning the language, grinding through the lower divisions, and never letting go of his dream of representing the United States on the world stage. He's done just that, appearing in World Cup matches, winning a Gold Cup, and scoring the fastest goal in United States men's soccer history. Now, as the U.S. prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, we got to have Shaq get his take. Where is the men's team?

What do you think about all the things going on with? the ticket prices and what do you think this summer will look like. We're talking about the business side of professional soccer, what it takes financially to build a career overseas, navigating MLS, building a brand as an athlete, giving back through the Shackmore Foundation and how athletes think about their next chapter all while still competing at the highest level.

Shack, welcome to training secrets. Yes, sir. Thank you for having me, man. That's a good intro. I didn't know I had all those accolades. I forgot. Thank you, man. These are stacked up, man. These are stacked up.

So let me ask you this. I always am curious about professional athletes that have competed at the highest level. At what point in your life did you realize this is, I got a shot at this. Like I can actually earn a living and compete at the highest stage. Like how old were you? What did it look like? Yeah, pretty early, man. I'd have to say around nine, ten years old, I realized I was maybe a little bit better than the competition.

It's true that there was a moment where I kind of shifted interest because I was so good. I was getting a little bit bored. So I had an interest for basketball, actually. Get out of here. Yeah, yeah. So, but then I ended up going to the World Cup in 2010 and seeing the atmosphere, seeing the U.S. actually play, shifted my whole focus back to soccer. So I would think around that time, I was like, yeah, this is what I want to do and this is what I can do and make it for. I love it.

At what point did you start to realize? Because soccer, like, you know, in the United States, it has grown tremendously. I played in college. Love the game. Big fan of the game. But as far as, like, when you stack rank the dollars going and funneling in this industry to other sports and just the overall. and just the overall salaries that they're paid, it's coming up. But especially when you started, it was a lot lower.

When was the first moment that you're like, wait a second, I can make some good money in this space? Yeah, probably when I signed my first professional contract in Spain. And that time was even nothing crazy. But it still had a moment of fulfillment that, okay, I can make a nice living from this. And then obviously coming back to MLS, you see the salaries are way bigger. And now we got messy. He was funding more money into the soccer in this country too. So I think all in all, from the time I went to Spain to now, like you said, the money's

gone up everywhere. And yeah, you can definitely make a good living. Your father was a professional soccer player. Did he ever advise for you to maybe consider other paths? Or was he always like, this is it. You can do it. Go make it happen. Yeah, he was a big advocate for going out and do it, man.

He knew that soccer was what I wanted to do from small. He played as well. So, you know, going to the fields, you know, with them. And me and my brothers were going to the fields with them. was my dream to play professional. So he was all for it. My mom was, you know, she was for it. She wanted me to, you know, do a few classes

and at least finished high school, which I did. Other than that, she was all for it as well. I love it. I love it. What do you think it is, once you start to get to the higher levels, you go to Spain, you're playing against the best in the world, and you're working your way up through the lower divisions.

What do you think it is that differentiates people at that level? Now you're not at your eight, nine-year-old self. You're playing against some of the best. What is it that differentiates the good from the grade at that level? Oh, it's a lot of things. Obviously, the game over there is very technical, very technical, so your knowledge of the game has to improve. Also, the physicality, everybody kind of catches up with you at that level, right? So you actually have to think. You have to, you know, you different resource. You have to improvise and think on the spot. So I would say those little things start to catch up with you, which, you know, I think I would say Spain was the best thing to happen to me to really round out my game as a professional. So I would say those are kind of the big things. Okay. Before we get more into your world as a professional athlete and the money behind it and some of the struggle. and the successes. The youth right now in America when it comes to youth sports, it's wild.

What's going on? I mean, parents have so many questions. The costs are so exorbitant. When I was in high school and obviously you too, it was very multi-sport faceted. Now it's very one-dimensional. Go all in. If you are advising someone who has a son or daughter that plays soccer and they want to go pro, What are you telling that mother or father to consider, to invest in, to not invest in?

What's how advice did you got for? That's a good question, man. Obviously, I would say go to a program where that will challenge you. Obviously, hopefully it's not too expenses because, you know, soccer in this country still has that, you know, those barriers are where maybe the most, not the most rich family can pay. But go to a program where you can challenge you where maybe you don't have to be the best player, but you're your challenge, right?

And also, you know, the extra work that you do. You know, I was lucky enough to have my coach. His name is Garvin. He was my club coach, and we also did a lot on the side in private. So those two things are crucial to, you know, open the gap between you and your opponents. Okay. You went through the IMG Academy and trained with FC Dallas, and then that's when you made that jump to Europe, right? So when you go through, you know, to me it's like I've told you before we started the podcast, some of the people you've had on, right?

Like Robert Rukowski played high school football, played college, went pro. Right? I mean, it's like this standard blueprint. With soccer, it's different. walk us through for anybody that just doesn't know, like you go to an IMG Academy, do you have to pay for the academy? What does it look like?

Like, what is the progression of becoming a pro soccer player? So I went to IMJ Academy with the U-17 national team, actually. Oh, wow. Fully funded from U.S. soccer. They used to have that program. They closed it now,

but there's a program where you stay there for two years from like 15 to 17 and you try to go to the U-17 World Cup. Because, you know, at that age around the world, that's what teams are doing, right? Kids are already living together, kids are already training everywhere and playing, you know, at the highest level.

So did that for two years. And then after that, I've trained with FC dollars for a little bit, which is funny because I ended up playing for a few dollars later on. Play for a few months, you know, try to bridge that gap between amateur with the U-17s and still trying to find my way as a professional. And then at that point, I got a chance to go to Spain. And yeah, that was all she wrote.

That was my how it started. That was it? And do most people, is that typically the standard progression into pro soccer? Or does it also like just like, just like, I think about, I talked to a guy the other day. He's a CA agent. He told, this is crazy. He told me that a good center for college right now, an 18-year-old,

who they're like a D-1 team is going to try and draft, is going to make $5 million in NIL money, $5 million to be a center. No, basketball. Basketball. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right? So that checks. But is there ever that progression?

Do you see people, like, that's a very rare thing, right, that someone would play D1? soccer in the United States and then be able to go to Europe and play pro? That's crazy. You know, there's a lot of stories where guys go to college and they ended up, you know, making a nice career from themselves too. And soccer, it is true that is a little bit different, you know, the college game maybe is not like how it is in basketball for college or football.

But everyone has their own journey, man. I know a lot of players that went to college killed it. And also a lot of players that signed homegrown with their MLS teams at 1560, ended up killing it. And there's also the, you know, the non-traditional route like I did, going to Europe, you know, young, 17. 18 and making it there. So I would say everyone's journey is different.

There's no, you know, one way to skin a cat. But, yeah, everyone's, everyone journey is different. Everyone journey is different. All right. So we talked money on this podcast. What's cool about the MLS is you could go on the MLSPA website. And it's very open. We talk about financial transparency on this podcast about what people make and what it

looks like. When you look at that today, April's, this was as of April 16th, it has you in a guaranteed compensation, 870K for the year over at FC Dallas. Before we get into any of what today looks like, I am sure it's taken a lot to get there, right? And so I'm curious those early days when you just started playing pro soccer. What did those dollar amounts look like?

And what did you have to do from a performance perspective to really start getting paid more? That's funny that you say. So I actually started on a third division team in Spain. So what I was making is probably like 800, 900, 900 euros a month. Wow. Yeah, so. But I had food included.

that had a home, you know, included. But that was tough, man, especially because we also had some money problems. So we weren't getting paid for like five, six months as well at my first team. Why is that? I guess the owner maybe didn't want to pay or I'm not sure really why. And it happened twice in my career, actually. But anyway, we'll get to that. Imagine, you know, a kid from America going to Spain and the first couple months there, he's not getting paid.

So that was tough, man. That was tough. But I think it's the best thing that happened. It kind of humbles you. So you learn earlier how, like you said, how to manage money, how to live on a budget. Maybe you can't go out and eat as much. So what's in the traditional route? Like, as they say,

as you get drafted from NFL on the NBA and you get a $5 million contract. Yeah. Mine was a little bit different. I have to work for every penny, but, you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, let me ask you that.

I mean, it doesn't even sound like you were making that kind of money. If you weren't getting paid for five months, technically you were losing money as a professional athlete. So you're at a deficit for five months of playing pro soccer. What do you do in those scenarios?

Like, we know in the United States, obviously, there's certain protections with agencies and right and then there's like different compliance groups and how is that protected in the year up yeah so there's a Spanish FAA that we used to complain it's like a like a players unit for sure for Spanish football right so yeah we remember we used to be in there like every week having meetings with them every week trying to get our money back um we ended up getting there I think like a year or two later but obviously at that point you don't know what's going to happen a year or two from that right like it's not like I had a status where I'd played in La Liga and I can just find another

team, right? So I was bouncing around a lot, still kind of living, not paycheck to paycheck, but, you know, month by month kind of seeing, you know, how can I really get through this? I remember those times I was like, wow, I should have just stayed at FC Dallas and signed homegrown there, but, you know, God has a way of working things out, and I'm glad, I'm glad it worked out. How do agents work? So if you're getting 800 euro, at that point, do you have an agent? Yeah, I have an agent. So my agent, he was actually a family of friends, so he went to school with my dad and we're like, they know each other for 40 years. So, yeah, it was good to have an agent that kind of looked out for me as well. He gave me some money on the side just to make sure that I'm

good. And it's someone I can trust, right? You know, you hear all these horror stories about agents that they do this and they do that. They screw them over. I must say my agent at the time was always, you know, top notch with them. That's a beautiful thing. So you go from 800-year-old a month, not getting paid. What did your performance look like before you actually started making a couple more bucks and what does a raise look like from that point? So, I mean, my whole mindset was how do I get out of this, right? So I would work extra hard. I would work. I work harder. I would put in extra hours, whether that's in the gym off the field, whether they're staying after practice, you know, doing whatever I can. But it was tough. I'm not going to say,

like, you know, it was tough to jump from that to where I'm at right now. It was, it was tough, man. I remember when this, because they kicked us out of the league at that point, right? So we weren't getting paid and, you know, per Spanish, you know, Federation rules. If you don't get paid, you get, you know, kicked out of the league. Sure. I remember bouncing around, like, what am I going to do next? I ended up going to Oviado, which is another team up north, you know, second division, second, the second team as well, kind of trying to fight my way through there before I finally got my break at Levante, which is their first team was in

Segunda, so the second division. It's not with their second team as well, but it was nice to be under a more structured team, right? So I didn't have to worry about the first and the 15th whether I'm going to get my paycheck or not, you know? So once I got there, it was up from there, right? It was a little bit more. It was probably like, you know, $1,200. Not, you know,

so much, but at least it was €1,200 euros a month, and I was getting it on time. Wow. So one less thing, so at that point, I can just focus on soccer and then really, you know, make my way up. I love it. And you did make your up, right? So you signed with Nashville SC. We're recording here in Nashville right now. This is in 2022. And what was reported was a $2 million transfer fee. Now, can you explain what a transfer fee is to anybody that wouldn't know? So basically, a transfer fee is when a club has your rights

and another team wants to buy you. There are a lot of teams that have a buyout clause in your contract. So mine, well, I think, I can't remember what it was, but say it says, they say it's five million. The team that owns you has the right to say no or yes, right? So it starts at five. And After that, you can go a little bit under or you can a little bit lower. So at this time, Nashville was really interested in me and it was a whole back and forth between my agent and the GM of Nashville, whatever,

but we ended up agreeing a fee of $12 million because I was still under contract. So if I finished my contract, I'm going to be a free agent, so I could have walked for free, but I still had, I think, two more years left in my contract in Tenerife, that was the team I was at. Okay. So I had two years, one or two years left in my contract,

and for me to leave that Nashville wanted me, they had to pay their clause. So they end up playing $2 million, And I was able to get transferred to Nashville. Now, when they paid that $2 million, though, do you get any of that? Or is it just go to the club? So it depends, right? Because Tenerife, it was not playing hardball, but they wanted to get every penny.

I remember waving, like, a few, I think it was like 20K that I was entitled to, just to get the deal to get over the line, right? So I ended up getting it back in Nashville, in the contract, whatever. But there's so much intricacies just to trying to get a transfer done. Sometimes you wave this, right, just so you can get the money somewhere else. sometimes you wait just to get the over line because, you know, that was a World Cup year too in the 2020. And I knew I had to get out to play

and start to, you know, make myself, you know, in a conversation for the World Cup. So I was willing to do anything to kind of get over the line and I get here and get started. So when the MLS had interest in you, you wanted to go. Yeah, so the last couple years in Spain,

I was kind of, you know, not getting tired of it, but I was feeling like it was time for a change. I also lost a few loved ones, so I lost my grandfather and my uncle. And I think it was time, a good time for me to come back. So, yeah, when Nashville came calling, it was like, you know, easy decision.

When Nashville comes calling, you come here. And at this point, where are you in the process of making the World Cup team? And what is making the world? Like, I mean, you and I were chatting about this a little bit before. It seems like every country has a different process of when they drop their roster and what it looks like. How long before do you know that, like, you're highly being considered you might get out. Talk to me about what that looks like. Yeah, that's a good question.

So before 20 and 21, I was in the national team, the Gold Cup actually that we won. That was my first time back in the National League for like two or three years. So I ended up killing it there, you know, team of the tournament. That's when I scored the fastest goal in. Breaking Clint Dempsey's record. And ended up being a big moment for me, just how much work I put in. And like I said, going from not getting paid to a Gold Cup champion was great. And it put my name in the mix again for the national team, right?

So I knew this summer after I had to be playing at least. So the hard part was in Segunda, there was no international break, right? So anytime I got called up to go to the national team, I would miss games back in Segundo with my team, Teneree. So I'm missing games. I have a nice running game, get called up with the national team. And then when I leave, when I come back, the guy in my place, he had like three, four games, you know, running, and he's doing well.

The team is going well. We almost got promoted that last year, actually. So it was tough, man, to be a national team player and then come back to your club and, you know, trying to struggle for a minute. So that played in my head a lot. I thought about leaving earlier. I thought about leaving in the summer.

I thought about leaving in the January window. But we were right in the mix of getting promoted and the team didn't want to let me go. And so I had to tough it out, man. I had to tough it out. And then we had the last,

I remember the last window of qualifiers before we qualified for the World Cup. Sure. And there was a lot of pressure because we were just coming up for 2018. We didn't qualify. So everyone, the pressure was immense. So the list comes out

and I'm not on it. And I was like, okay. I'll take this international break. We had two, three days off, and I decided to go to Las Palmas, which is the neighboring island of Tenerife. Okay. So I'm chilling there on the beach, whatever, whatever,

and Greg calls me, Greg Burrothi, he was the coach at the time. He calls me, he's like, we might have a situation here. So-and-so gets hurt, so-and-so has COVID or something. We might need to call you. I was like, you're after the list comes out.

So you were on an island. After the list comes out. After the list comes out. Like, you know, typical, right? I'm not on the list, so I'll disconnect, whatever. Yeah, I'm not going. So I didn't have to cut my trip short, ended up going back on the boat, back to Tenerife,

gathered my cleats, whatever, and I was scheduled to leave the next morning. So I leave the next morning, whatever, whatever. I think they were playing in Mexico. I think they got a tie or something. That's crazy. You had to leave the next morning from an island to go play in the World Cup. World Cup qualified. World Cup qualified.

But still, like, it's like still part. I mean, that's a wild journey. Yeah. And then we ended up going there. And when I landed to the hotel, I'm watching the game on the TV. And the commentary is like, yeah, this kind of, has yellow card, almost suspension if he gets one more yellow, someone else has to play.

So I'm watching it, little bit of a whole, 10 minutes into the game, the guy gets the yellow card. So I'm thinking, oh, yep, I'm going to have to play. So I went from kind of not being in the team, you know, kind of in and out of the roster with my own club team to playing the most important game in the qualifier, right? I think in Mexico, we play puna in my home. When, basically, you go to the World Cup.

Coach just throws me into the line because there's no one else. Oh, my God. Ended up playing. Everything went well. We played. We won like, I think we won like 5-1. We qualified. Not officially, but numbers-wise, basically we qualified.

Yeah. But it's just funny how all that happened, right? So I think from that point on, I knew that, okay, I can do this. I just need to get my club situation sorted out playing every weekend. And I know I get myself a chance to go. That's wild. When you're under that stage for the first time, you're getting put in the game, you're seeing the yellow card.

Holy shit. This is the thing I'm going in. What do you do to keep your nerves like at, rest and focus on what you do best, which is playing. I call my parents, actually. You know, they're always my foundation, right? So when something's happened, kind of, you know, call them and make sure they give me good advice and just to calm me down a little bit and take a few breaths.

And then it's like, you know, you kind of let the preparation kind of kick in, right? You know how much you put in, you know that, you'll be all right. That doesn't take away the jitters that you have, but you always be, okay, trust to work and, you know, see where it takes you. It's pretty cool. We have seen things, especially now in 2026, we've seen individuals play, at the Olympic level. And because of social media,

their branding has taken off to make them stars, right? Like Alona Marr is one of them. She is a World Cup champion U.S. women's rugby player who became a social media star from the Olympics and then went on dancing with stars

and is now just, I mean, she's killing it, right? There's a lot of these stories if we go to the Winter Olympics, those stories are endless. How important financially or what type of impact financially, does it have on you to make the men's World Cup team?

Yeah, it's huge, right? So not just soccer-wise, just like you said, your brand, now you're in a whole world audience, right? So anything you do, it can be positive or it can be, you know, negative as well. So definitely a big opportunity, especially for the guys now and being on home soil. Like I watch all the commercials and I'm like, yeah, my guy is there. Even when I was in there because it was like playing like, you know, older game. And I was like, oh, shoot, that's there.

So the opportunities are endless, right? you know, especially in a home soil, and U.S. is kind of known for branding. U.S. is known for, you know, making things big, and especially with the World Cup. So especially now the guys have the big opportunity to really cash in, and also they're on the field, you know, do their thing as well. We've had a lot of, like, big influencers, creators, different celebrities come out and talk about how much they're paid for endorsements and compare it to what their earnings are for what they do on a day-to-day basis. When you have gotten a brand endorsement deal, like, what does that look like?

How does that compare to your actual earnings? Can you make more off endorsements than you can actually playing the game? Talk to me about other ways to make money outside of the field. So for soccer is a little different. We're not as big, well, at least in this in America, right? We're not as big as, you know, some of the other athletes, right? So the basketball, the NFL's, the, you know, the other sports. But we still can get a little, you know, the little love.

So there's like, you know, water bottle companies, for example. I know one of my teammates, he scored one game and he had, they threw a modern. Bolo beer at him, right? And he drinks it on the field. So he ended up getting an endorsement from that. You know, he went viral. Sam Sarve, you can probably look him up. How much you think he gets?

I'm not sure how much he gets. If you had to just guess, what do you think? Like, 5K. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, something like that. But he went viral. Like, so I understand why, you know, Moldello beer would, you know, would sign him.

So I think it kind of depends. You know, I think it's still growing. But I think going forward, you're still like a lot more guys started to get deals off the field. All right. So walk me through it. So you make the World Cup team, you're there. You know, you're in guitar.

You played against England and Iran. I mean, what is that like? Just like summarize what that's like. So the England game was a full circle moment because remember when I told you went to the 2010 World Cup? We actually went to the U.S. England game, right? So it was full circle when I got to play and make my debut against U.S. and in England.

So that whole moment was amazing, right? It was a full circle moment coming from, like I said, imagine starting from where I started and then working, grinding, grinding, and finally, you know, making this moment. So it was good, man, especially that was a big game. England kind of, you know, was heavy favorites going into that game. So to get a result, you know, come in and contribute as well. It was great. And then Iran was a big game too, knowing that we had to, you know, win and get a result to, you know, go through.

So I remember this thinking, man, just go for it, do your thing, don't think about it. And everything will happen how it was supposed to. Can you paint any type of picture of how United States? Like, how are you paid by United? It's like, how are you paid when you're on the World Cup? When you're on the World Cup? Yeah, the U.S. that pays you? So, yeah, the U.S.S. Soccer Federation, they'll pay you.

Yes, okay. And guys have, you know, other contracts. So, I mean, I was sponsored at Nike at the time, so Nike would pay you. Wow. If you have an Adidas contract, Adidas would give you a bonus if that's in your contract. I think the, I was an MLS. So, yeah, MLS would give you your contract. So, like, say, for making the World Cup, then you get X amount.

Per goal, you get X amount. Yeah. So there's all these incentives. All these incentives. Are you making more when you make the World Cup team or at MLS? Well, in MLS, you have your salary, right? You have a salary. So they'll pay you the most.

Yeah, because for the long. Yeah, yeah. So, but per game, you know, you have to pay you. I think it's for a win. It was like, I don't know how much it was. When it was like, I think 12 or 13 loss is like, it kind of depends, right? So there's all these incentives. When you might get 12 grand.

Your loss might get $5. Exactly. I'm sure if you meta or if you go further as far as what place you and you get more money, Or sometimes it's like a big game. We play Mexico. It's like, you know, a bigger game. So it kind of depends. Every game is different, right?

Yeah. Have you seen, I mean, there are all these wild stories of fan bases and repercussions for playing in a game under huge pressure and it not going well, whether it's a P.K. Or a missed opportunity. Have you ever been witnessed any of this where you've seen just insane fandom or you've seen a player like really mentally go through it based on the pressure that has been put on them from their country? With the national team, I wouldn't say I haven't seen anyone.

We kind of know that kind of comes with it. You know the scrutiny that comes with it. We know the positives that come with it as well. So me personally know, I mean, there's always like people that say you could have done this better and that better. You know how it is. It's always scrutiny. That's just the name of the game.

But in terms of a player kind of, you know, his whole world coming crashing down because of one event, I personally haven't been with the U.S. team and that has happened. But I have seen that on TV where a guy, you know, on goal or, you know, miss a mistake here or there. And then it's, you know, it's not done for him, but it's hard to come back from. So it's part of the game. Well, you know, you try to help that guy if you're there to, you know, give him encouragement and know that that doesn't find his career.

But, yeah, definitely those tough moments. But, you know, they make you stronger. They make you stronger. In soccer, every sport, I think, and every even in positions of different sports, there are different things that contribute to being very successful in the. those roles. Like, let's say a running back, it's, you know, a ton of strength and finesse or a wide receiver. It's a lot about a speed. And in the game of soccer, would you say that the biggest differentiator in success is the physical endurance side of things? Or would you say it's more of the

mental IQ? I think it's a little bit of both, man, because, you know, in today's soccer, if you're not physically, you know, physically, you know, you can't play. Because it's gotten so physically Yeah, so physical, it's numbers. You know, you got to run, weight training. You've got to run X amount. You got to plan this. You can't play that. So today's game, I think there's definitely a level of physicality that you need to have.

But I think the mental part is even more, is even more important, right? So, like, mistakes are going to happen. How can you come back from that? Or, you know, you're not playing. Like, how can you come back from that? I remember when I was in Spain, I was going to get transferred and I didn't. How do you come back from that, right? So that mental part is just as important as the physical part.

When you see something, get fast forward into 2026, what's coming up this summer of United States World Cup, when you, as a player, I always curious, when you see some of the things that are happening with the price points per ticket, I mean, you're looking at the finals right now. Tickets are going $10, $20, $30,000 for a ticket. As a player, when you hear and see that, you know, how do you, what do you think about that? Like, what's your take on that?

Yeah, me personally, I think it's a little bit too much because, you know, I mean, the majority of fans probably wouldn't be able to, you know, to pay that. Of course. But that's not really my department. I remember the world, they gave us, going a few tickets, you know, per player. They have X amount, right? So that was, that was a nice part.

But at the end of the day, it's also a once in a lifetime kind of, you know, opportunity, right? So I get why, you know, they would, you know, ramp up the tickets. But do I agree with it? Probably or not. But, you know, they say it's a business, right?

They say it's a business. In 2022, you talked a little bit about your story. You're on the island. You get the call. Closing your eyes in 2026, and you're thinking within the last month, the likelihood. What do you think in your head the percentages were in your brain like 50, 50, 60, 40, 70, 30 that you were going to be on the roster this summer? I don't know about a percentage, but I definitely

I think was more on the outside looking in, kind of seeing how the, you know, the calls were going. I went to one camp with Portchitino. So I kind of knew that maybe I'd be more on the outside, but that didn't direct me from working hard, right? I still try to put in a good, you know, performance. Actually, you know, Porch had a, I think he had a few conversations with my team just to see, you know, how it was doing. But at the end of the day, you know, it didn't work out. That's football. That's life.

I'm not bitter person. You know, I'm going to be there cheering the guys on, you know, 100%. Especially for the guys that were in the mix in 2022. It didn't make it, but ended up making it, you know, this time too around. So definitely, I'll be supporting them from afar. That's why that just gives me even more, you know, thankfulness to have made the 2022 World Cup team because, you know, those opportunities don't come around. Yeah, that's for sure.

When you look at our World Cup group now, I think it's group D. We got Turkey there, Australia is there, Paraguay's there. Like, of your experience and looking at those teams, what do you think? Yeah. I mean, it's a good group. I think it's something, a group that we should come out of, but at the same time, you can't overlook any team, right?

So I remember in Qatar, we play Wales, and on paper we were probably more favorable, right? But we ended up tying that game. So I think, you know, in today's soccer, anybody could beat anybody. You got to take a game by game. Obviously, the goal is to get out the group first and after that, you know, try to take a game by game and get as far as you can. But you can't overlook any game, any team, any group.

You got to go out there and win the game. Yeah. There's so much access to looking at, and I know reporters ask you guys, there are so many analytics now that'll say, oh, you're a two-to-one favor or three-to-one underdog. Do players ever talk, obviously there's no players are betting or anything, but do you guys ever talk about like, we're big underdogs here? Or do you ever see that stuff?

or do reporters, like, say, hey, you're a 4-to-1 underdog on the betting sites. What do you think about that? Like, does that ever weigh into your game? I've heard that before, but not really, man. Well, for me, at least, I just kind of try to take it as it comes, right? And then the day, they lace it up just as much as you do. If you have a kind of two, I mean, it's not bad to have an underdog, right? You know, you're not expecting to win, you can surprise them, right?

But you don't want to give any teams too much respect, you know, any day you got to compete, you know, when you play against England's, when you play against the Brazil, when you play against the big teams, you got to know that. you know, on any given day and one-off game, anything that happens. So that's kind of how you got to take. All right. We got the professional soccer player, Shaq Moore here. World Cup is this summer, not including U.S.

You cannot say U.S. Give us your prediction. Who do you think is in the finals? I like Spain, man. I don't know if it's because I played there or whatever, but I like Spain and I like Argentina, man. Argentina is kind of, you know, back-to-back winners. I wouldn't do it would be bad.

Dark Horse, Portugal, Belgium. I can see them making a run too. To win it all, I think Argentina, man. It's hard to bet against Fessie, yeah? Exactly. And so, you know, in the last World Cup, maybe it won it and maybe, you know, start to, you know, wind down his career. But, yeah, I got Argentina. You've played against him, right? Yeah, I played against him.

And playing against him, summarize it for me. What's it like? Yeah, man, it was crazy, man. I played against him in Spain the first time against Barcelona when we played them. Surreal, surreal kind of experience. Never made a guy that kind of doesn't let you rest at all. Except maybe when you're attacking He doesn't really defend But I'm talking about you know offensively

Yeah He's he's like he'll play simple here I'll play simple here Kind of war you to sleep a little bit And then before you know it That's the thing You know what I mean I watch him closely

Especially in the MLSS right He's very intelligent With where he spends his energy You know But he'll be deceptive Like you won't see him at all Exactly And then he will literally touch the ball

For three seconds And there's a goal When you pick it out of your neck The efficiency of when that ball touches his foot. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. It's funny that you point that out because a lot of people don't see that, right? Yeah. Oh, he doesn't just beat people. But if you

really watch a game, he's like, you know, play simple here. Play simple here. But as soon as he gets around his box, if you're not in your P's and Q's, you're picking the ball out of the back of you. Have you ever played with anyone close to his, as talented as him? Christian is good. A pull a sick, he's good. I always rated him. When I was in Levante, we had a winger called

Morales. Was in Morales? He was, he used to give guys a hard time, man. We played Barcelona in Real Madrid, and you would like always make them look like cones. So those guys are probably the best about I've played with. It's pretty good stuff. You got to love it. You got to love it.

All right. Being an athlete, it's not like being a doctor, right? When you're a doctor, you have a 40-year career. You know that like you can practice as long as you're ready to go, right? Within your career, the shelf life is always a big question mark. Obviously, you've had a very successful career. How do you deal with the finances of that? Like, how do you budget knowing that, I don't know, five years, 10 years,

you might not be playing anymore? What does that, what's that strategy look like? Yeah, so I have a financial advisor and we kind of talk about it, right? So we put money away. We, you know, we do invest in mutual funds and annuity. So, you know, like you said, you can't play forever. So you got to start to put stuff in place that when you're done playing, you can kind of live like how you live now, right?

Because you hear it all the time athletes going, bro, making way more than we make and nothing to show for it at the end of the career. So, yeah, so, I mean, every paycheck, like, you know, the typical break in half right away, put something. away and then that other half is kind of my expenses for the month. So I'm still learning by no means am I a expert, you know, how I spend money on stuff that I've always wanted sometimes like anybody else. But definitely getting better. And like you said, you know, you can't play forever. So you got to , you know, do the right things. It's a fun money question. But what's one thing you know you overspend on

and you're going to continue to overspend on unless you go broke? Food probably. What kind of food do you go on? Kind of different kinds of foods, right? My parents are from Trinney. So I love Trini food. whether I was Chipotle, Chick-fil-Aid in normal, because I was in Spain for eight years. So those are the foods that I was missing, right? So off days, I would, you know, eat those a lot. But restaurants, restaurants, new restaurants, new burger joints, new sushi joints.

So, yeah, food, if I can come back on a new food, I'll be all right. I love it. All right, so we talked a little bit about the current salary that's published out there in the MLS. One of the interesting things I saw about this salary is that it is, they call it guaranteed compensation, right? I still don't really understand that part. Guaranteed and what's the other one? It's like guaranteed and there's...

It has your base salary as... Base salary is 800,000 guaranteed compensation at 870,000. So the question I was asking myself is, are there then big performance incentives? I think that. I think that might be like bonuses. Okay.

You play X amount of games, you get a bonus. You play X amount of minutes, you get a bonus. I think it might be that. And then Leagues Cup, we play Leagues Cup. We play Leagues Cup. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Leagues Cup. Of course. bonuses in there. So I think when you accumulate all of that, I think that's what the guaranteed

compensation should be, which it can change, right? Because if you lose, you don't get a bonus. But I guess those are just numbers they kind of throw out there. You're a right back, right? So as a back, obviously, you're not scoring goals often. I'll know you do have to. I scored a few. Yeah. As you say, you have to say, your resume, you got a few. And you have the fastest one in U.S. West's history. So you find your way towards the net. If you know, I'll get up there. But I got to imagine if I'm your agent and I'm working with you as a right back, I'm not putting big bonuses in place for scoring because that's not what's going to define your success.

So when you go into a year, as a right back, what are the metrics? What are the tangible things that you're like, this year I have to do this? Or is it mostly subjective based on how the team views the value you break? I think it's a little bit of everything, right? So, I mean, if you think individually that, you get your stats right, you know, assists and goals, when it's played, whatever. but that doesn't really matter if the team doesn't do well, right? So if you can have all the stats in the world,

but if your team kind of isn't great, you know, it doesn't really, you know, mean anything. So I think it's definitely subjective. You definitely want to balance between the performance itself, performing well and, you know, the bad luck bonuses that come with it. Have you ever made a big financial mistake or did you ever lose money on something or have a financial regret over the course of your life?

Probably closed sometimes early on, buying, you know, the typical Gucci, Louis this or designer that and realizing that it's just a shirt, like you don't really need to, you know, pay that, all that stuff. Or this fashion thinking that, you know, if I have this or that on, I'm, you know, you can do the same thing with just, you know, regular clothes. So I always say probably close. I had a few that I'm like, damn, I paid that looking back on it.

Yeah, shoot. Yeah. What is, like, like, taxes in Europe? Like, being in Spain, what are taxes like over there? Yeah, the same thing like here. Same time? Yeah, so obviously, you know, every paycheck, you know, you get your taxes, whatever, whatever, and then you file for them and you got to, you know, pay them like everybody else.

Okay. And I was paying taxes here, too, because, you know, the U.S., you know, serious and whatever, I wasn't playing yet, but on the national team, you pay taxes there and everything, so. Man, your accountant must be working. Yeah. You got Spain, Texas, you got U.S. Luckily, I'm here now, right? Yeah, he's going to say, now you're in the last couple years, so it's been, it's been easier.

All right, talk to me about your foundation. You're obviously doing a ton on the field, but you're doing a ton off the field. So tell me about the field. the Shackmore Foundation, how it's going, what your objectives are, and where you guys are making impact. Yeah, well, one of my most proudest things that I've done is, you know, starting to Sackmore Foundation. I knew giving back was something I always wanted to do, and to open it and do it, you know, formally has been great. But basically, just kind of help communities out, kids out through, you know, soccer incentives

or just community incentives in general, right? So we've done, we've done a food drive, food drive, turkey drive, we've done clinics. I have a Shackmore day in Fort Lauderdale. So, and that's when I, that's where I'm born. That's where you grew up. I lived there until I was 10 to move to Atlanta. Yeah. So they kind of commemorate me for all their successes, and I hold like a day clinic for them.

I have a tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, where my parents is from for kids because, you know, the opportunities are there is a little bit, you know, slim. So I like to kind of do a tournament for them, give them a little sense. A few of my buddies are coaches and scouts. I'll call them over just so they know that,

okay, people are watching, right? Yeah. So, yeah, definitely best, one of the best things I've done, apart from all my accomplishments, on the field, off the field as well. Are you a citizen at Trinidad? Oh yeah, I have a passport.

Okay. I mean, could you play? Yeah, I could have play. So that's a funny story, right? I actually went to trial for them and I was like, U-14, U-15, and they said it wasn't good enough. No way. Yeah, yeah.

And then I met the U.S. team like a year or two later. Oh, my gosh. That's crazy. It's so sad and just like, dang, like in London. It's funny how things work, right? Yeah. And what does life look like off the pitch for you? Yeah, it's great, man.

Me and my partner, we just welcome a baby boys. Congratulations. March. Thank you. Thank you. She's about to be three months old. Wow. But, yeah, everything is good, man. She's settled in all into Dallas, right? She just moved in. So everything is good, man. Can't complain.

Family man, now. So blessed, man, can't complain. That was a beautiful thing. If you have to look at a crystal ball, where do you think? Like, what you think you'll be at FC Dallas for a while? Do you think there's potential trades in the horizon? If you had to guess, what do you think it's going to look like? Ideally, I would want to stay in FC Dallas if I can.

You know, with a family, things are a little bit different now. You want a little bit more stability per se. But, you know, that's life too, right? Sometimes, you know, team might say, you know, we like you, but XYZ. So ideally, if you can stay in Dallas for a little bit more, that would be great. But if not, well, you know, got to take it wherever the wind blows me. Very cool. And just touching on the fitness agenda, what does training look like for you now?

Like on a week-to-week basis, nutrition and training and just what does that look like? Yeah, it's a good question, man. So we do our regular training, you know, on the field, obviously, in there two days a week. We'll do gym sessions, so upper body one day, lower body one day. Probably like once or twice a week I'll go to the gym on my own. Just do some stretching and sauna and just a little bit more kind of recovery stuff to get, you know, my body of prime for the weekend. And then here and there I do yoga more and off. Do you like hot yoga?

Yeah, just so I can, you know, last as long as I can, you know, it's a short career. So any little extra thing I can do to kind of last as long as I can, I try to do it. How about endurance? There's so many people listen to this podcast that want to do like a 5K or train for a half marathon or train for a marathon or train for a marathon. Endurance is a huge part of being a professional athlete, of course, a soccer player. Anything specifically, any tips or tricks you can give them to increase their overall endurance? That's a tough one, man, because, I mean, sometimes I run all offseason and I get to the first day of preseason that I'm still tired.

It's funny because soccer fitness is like a different, I mean, you play it right. It's a different type of fitness, man. Start cut. The stop. I was going to say the stops that goes, the cuts. Yeah. Some games might be 10 times faster than others. Exactly. Some games are a little bit, you know, you should back the whole game. Yeah. I think the only way you can really get fitness is playing. So obviously running bridges the gap between, you know, the in-season and off-season.

But, you know, the only way to get peak soccer fitness is, you know, by playing games. Play the game. Do you think you ever going to coaching? You know, I've been asked there a few times. I don't want to coach grown men. I think that's a little bit too much. And I don't want to travel as much like when I'm done playing because I've traveled so much while I'm playing, I missed out on moments.

and I've a son now. So I think I would coach maybe kids. I like, that's a little passionate of mine. So, you know, privates or a local team where I don't have to travel too far. That's something I'll be open to. But yeah, I guess we'll see. I want to get my coaching license, though.

So that's probably my next venture that I want to do, get a coaching license. Just to have it, you know, you never know what can come from. When you're on the U.S. men's World Cup team, I mean, you got, it's 26, right, the roster? 26 of the best players in the United States. So there's, I'm going to make the conclusion. I'll say it.

there's got to be a lot of egos in the room, right? And there's got to be a lot of really success right there, here and there. Not all of them, but they're just has. I mean, you've got the best players in the world. I don't think you could be one of the best players in the world, not have some kind of ego or confidence level, right? So at that level, have you found when you're in those locker rooms, is it hard?

Because, you know, you kind of made the comment about, you don't want to coach adults and it just brought me to this. Is it, you found that it's hard for coaches to earn the respect to those players when you're dealing with literally the best players walking the planet in the country? Yeah, I think at times. I would say Greg did a good job of keeping us together. So we did a lot of team events

and we had a lot of meetings saying like, this is we, right? It's not me. Especially when you go into tournaments, like these short tournaments where any little thing can kind of throw you off, throw the team off. So he definitely said leave your ego at the door.

You know, this is a team, whether you play or you don't play because a lot of us play every game. Yeah. But when you go to a national team, you have to sacrifice a little bit. So you might not play or you might, your role today might be come on the last 10 minutes.

Like, how do you deal with that? So, if you got to leave your ego out the door if you want to, you know, keep playing and be a part of the thing going forward. So that's a big part. What do you think makes, like, you've played for a lot of coaches, right? What do you think makes a coach

the best coach out there specifically? I think the people coaches, the player coaches, right? So they can relate to you, they talk to you. You know, I remember one coach that he, we never spoke in the six months that we were there, you know. So I think a coach that kind of makes you feel. You never spoke in the six months? Typical like, like, you know, hey, good morning or standard.

Yeah, yeah, but other than that, like meetings or anything, it wasn't. That's crazy. Yeah, that happens. I had nothing against him. I don't think he had anything against me. Yeah, but you have no relationship. How do you not have a relationship for people that are working for you? That's how it goes sometimes.

Working with you, I guess. That's how it goes sometimes, man. It could be cut through. Maybe I wasn't in his plans. Maybe I'm not sure, but I think the best coach is for me with the one that talked to, whether you agree with the decision or not, right? Sure. You might tell you, you're not playing today.

Okay, cool. At least you were, you know, straight up with me. I know how to, you know, get my mind in a certain way. Or you said, yo, be ready. You know, you might play this. Like, for me, those are the best coaches. Keep it real with you. Tell you when you're going to play, when you're not going to play.

Obviously, sometimes it might not go your way. He might say yes and it might be no. But I think the coaches that talk to you kind of give you reasoning is the best in my opinion. I remember when I was playing in college. College was the level where it started to get a little dirty. I had corner kicks guys would be jamming the back of their heels into my toes. You get the nose. nuttaps.

Not fun. You get, like, you know, not fun. What is, like, in all your memory of all the games, I just can't imagine

at the World Cup level, the shit talking and things. What is, like, one memory that you'll never forget about? You don't have to say who it was, but, like, like, one of the cheapest shots you got. One time we were playing with the U-17 teams

and a qualifier. Same thing on the corner. I'm gardening guy, and he, like, hits me my head. Yeah, and, like, thankfully the ball didn't get to him,

but, but, yeah, I think now it's a little bit harder, especially with a bar and everything, you can't really do that stuff. But yeah, those were, used to hate that, man. I'm like, yo, just play you straight up.

Yeah, just play me straight up. I don't even mind if it's like a tackle. If it's 50-50 ball and you, no problem. Play the ball. But those cheap shots, I hated that. But, hey, that's how they won an advantage. Or the goal, I mean, I remember, I took a few, because I was a striker.

So the goal and I would, you know, I would be talking shit out there. Yeah, yeah. And goalies would go to punch the ball and all of a sudden my nose is broken. Yeah, yeah, give a little extra. Yeah, get a little extra. Makes me think twice about going up for a corner.

But, yeah, I mean, what is your, in all the memories you have playing soccer? What's the one memory you'll never forget? Well, there's a few. When I, the goal cup, in general, was a big moment because I had worked so hard to get back in the team. I had been in and out of lineups, finally went to a team, Tenerife that, you know, had some stability and I knew if I had stability, I can, you know, make it. So that was very fulfilling. The World Cup team, that moment was great as well.

Debuting, you know, that was great. So there's a few of them, but those two kind of stick with me. Well, that is awesome. I mean, it's so cool to hear about your career, how you've gotten to where you've gotten in a sport that is slowly but surely just blowing up in the United States. It's fun to watch it. And hopefully the MLS keeps growing.

And we keep bringing more European soccer players, obviously your United States soccer player, but you went out there and you came back. And, yeah, thank you for breaking down the business of a professional athlete and soccer player, especially in a timely manner with World Cup. We got your predictions. We got a lot of it.

We're going to hold you to them, see what happens. But we got to wrap with the trading secret. So the trading secret is something that is very specific to your career track. It could be anything. It could be something you live by. It could be something that got you to where you got. It could be a financial tip. It could be anything.

What's a trading secret you can leave us with, Shaq? I would say, man, whatever you do, just state, of course. There's always going to be people that tell you you you can't do something. They're always going to be barriers that kind of set you back. I would say stay the course. I said earlier, you know, everyone's journey is different. I know guys that when I started to kind of peek into the professional level,

they were maybe ahead of me, and then I ended up being ahead of them, right? So it's kind of dependent. Everyone's journey is different. Stay focused, stay the course, and, yeah, everything will be all right. It is really interesting to see how, especially in professional athletes, just the weirdest things can put someone like it. And it's like nothing changed except, I guess, the course they're on and life changes. And I'd say the people that you see on your way up

or the people that you'll meet on your way down. So make sure you treat people, make sure you treat them well. The last follow-up I have to your training secret, was there ever a time in your career, you almost quit? I wouldn't say quit, but when I was in Spain, like I told you, when I was part of the few teams that kind of the money wasn't right and they kicked us out of the league, there was a point where I was like maybe do I give up on my European,

wanting to be European, like playing Europe kind of journey. I remember there was like a limit, right? So say, by Friday, if I don't get a call, I'm just going to go back to the U.S. to play, right? Yeah. Ended up getting a call that Friday and ended up going to Levanti. So that was the kind of the moments where I was like, dang, if I went, you know, one way or the other,

my career, my path could have been, you know, totally different. Totally different, right? So I think the thing I'm most part of is that I stuck it out, stayed the course, and, yeah, I'm ripping the benefits now. I just remember it. I do think, as you mentioned your answer to that, you referenced early Spain. And when you said early Spain,

you guys weren't paid for six months. did you allude to the fact this happened again in your career that you weren't paid? And when was that? I can't finish the degree without asking. That was when I was in Levante, they sent me on loan and the team called Reus. Right outside of Barcelona. What does that mean they sent you on loan? So I belong to a team.

So I'm under contract with Levante. And maybe the coach doesn't like me or maybe I'm a young player. I still need experience. They send you on loan. So the loan can be six months. You go to a team for six months. After six months, you come back. It can be a year.

You go to the team for a year. You come back. So the plan for me was go to a team, play for a team. played for a year and then come back, go to the team, kill it in preseason and everything as well, and then I get hit with the same problem again. Money problems, and we didn't get paid

for another six months, kick this out of the league. So I had to go back to Levanti. The coach at Levante already had his kind of team and I had to go back to the second team. Wow. So we had to go back to the team that puts you on loan because they couldn't pay. In both those scenarios, when you weren't paid,

did you end up eventually getting money? I ended up getting eventually, yeah, in the long run, yeah. But it was tough, man. It's like I feel like right when I'm up to get my break is always a set back. I think people see the glitz and glam with professional athletes. They don't get to hear stories like this. So it's great that you kind of pull that curtain back for people to know. Thank you for letting me in late.

Yeah. All right. Check where can everyone find everything you have going on? Where can they find your foundation? Tell us. Yeah. So on Instagram or Shackmore Foundation, you can follow in the website. Everything is on there.

If I want to donate as well. I'm on Instagram, too, personally, Shackmore. And yeah, that's about it, man. Thank you. for the support. Thank you for having me, man. This was awesome, Shaqmore. All right, let's go. It's almost time for the World Cup,

so let's see how U.S. fairs. Shackmore. Thank you so much for being done.