NBA Hall of Famer and perennial pitchman Shaquille O’Neal is joining the Papa John’s board of directors as its first African-American member, a move the pizza chain hopes will boost its faltering brand after racially insensitive remarks from its founder sunk sales. The three-year deal offers $8 million in cash and stock options to O’Neal, who will serve as brand ambassador and invest in nine Papa John’s restaurants in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. In March, the company reached a settlement with former chairman and founder John Schnatter, who resigned in 2018 after using a racial slur in a conference call and blaming a drop in sales on the NFL’s handling of player protests against police brutality and racism. The company scrubbed Schnatter’s image from its merchandising in an effort to distance itself from the comments, but North American sales fell 7.3% last year. When Papa John’s announced the addition of O’Neal to the board, shares soared by more than 6% that day.…