Rich Paul
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Rich Paul (born December 16, 1981) is an American sports agent based in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio. He founded Klutch Sports Group which represents a number of prominent NBA players. Paul was named by ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' as one of the world's most powerful sports agents.


Early life

Paul grew up in a one-bedroom apartment above his father's store, R & J Confectionery, on East 125th and Arlington in Glenville, a neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland. His father enrolled him in the private, fee-paying
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
, a Roman Catholic high school. His father died of cancer in 1999. After graduating from high school, Paul was mentored by Distant Replays owner Andy Hyman on selling vintage jerseys. He would buy throwback jerseys from
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and sell them out of his trunk in Cleveland. In 2002, he met
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...
at the
Akron–Canton Airport Akron–Canton Airport is a commercial airport in the city of Green, in southern Summit County, Ohio (a small piece of each runway is in Stark County), about southeast of Akron. It is jointly operated by Summit County and Stark County. Th ...
, where James was impressed by Paul's authentic
Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonto ...
throwback jersey. The two exchanged contact information, and soon Paul had sold James a
Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
Lakers jersey and a
Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...
Rams jersey.


Career

In 2003, after the NBA draft, Paul joined James as a part of his small inner circle, along with James' childhood friends
Maverick Carter Maverick Carter is an American sports-marketing businessman and media personality. Early life and education Maverick Carter was born on October 10, 1980 Carter spent most of his youth in Akron, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia. Carter grew up the son ...
and Randy Mims. He would later start working under
Leon Rose Leon Rose (born 1961) is an American basketball executive, Lawyer, attorney and sports agent. He serves as president of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a sports agent, Rose represented a number of prominent N ...
, who had negotiated James' extension with the Cavaliers in 2006, at
Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...
. In 2012, Paul, along with James, left Rose and CAA to start his own agency,
Klutch Sports Group Klutch Sports Group is an American sports agency based in Los Angeles, California, founded by sports agent Rich Paul. History In 2003, after the NBA draft, LeBron James asked Paul to be a part of his small inner circle, along with James' chil ...
. In 2013, Paul enlisted noted long-time agent and attorney Mark Termini to run the NBA contract negotiations for Klutch. By the conclusion of Termini's tenure at Klutch in 2020, Klutch Sports had a roster of 25 clients, and Termini had led negotiations on over $1 billion worth of NBA contracts for said clients. Later that year,
United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. U ...
(UTA) made a strategic investment in Klutch Sports Group and asked Paul to run its sports division where he expanded the division's clients from 4 to 23. In 2020, he accepted a position on UTA's board of directors. Before the start of the 2017–18 season,
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
owner
Robert Sarver Robert Gary Sarver (born October 31, 1961) is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, and the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and RCD Mallorca. Early life and edu ...
had told Paul that if he did not sever ties to head coach
Earl Watson Earl Joseph Watson Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA ...
, who had Paul and the Klutch Sports Group as an agent at the time, he would fire Watson from the team. After the Suns got off to a 0–3 start, with two blowout losses (including the worst loss in franchise history and worst season opening performance in NBA history) being the perfect cover story in mind, Watson was fired on October 22, and replaced on an interim basis by associate head coach
Jay Triano A jay is a member of a number of species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in w ...
for the rest of that season. This story later became a part of a major report on Sarver on September 13, 2022, which led to his year-long suspension from the NBA and later resulted in Sarver agreeing to sell the Suns and
Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...
to a new owner eight days afterward. In August 2019, the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) changed its regulations for agents, requiring them to hold a bachelor's degree. Called the "Rich Paul Rule" by the media, it was widely seen as a swipe at Paul for having not graduated from college and for working with a high school prospect
Darius Bazley Darius Denayr Bazley (born June 12, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bazley attended Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio after playing his fir ...
who decided to work as an intern for
New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...
rather than attend
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. Paul argued in an op-ed in ''
The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...
'' that the rule would prevent people from less prestigious backgrounds, people of color, and those without the funds to attend college from working as agents in the future so NCAA executives could have more control. The NCAA later backed down from the regulation change. In 2020, Paul launched "Klutch Conversations" during the
NBA All-Star Weekend The National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend is a weekend festival held every February during the middle of the NBA regular season that consists of a variety of basketball events, exhibitions, and performances culminating in the NBA All-Star ...
with
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and
General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
to encourage financial literacy among young people. In August 2021, Rich Paul was reportedly being sued by
Nerlens Noel Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his anterior cruciate ...
on the grounds of a breach of
fiduciary duty A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, for exampl ...
,
breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...
, and negligence for his role in turning down a $70 million contract offer from the
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
in the offseason preceding the 2017–18 season.


Recognition

Paul was included in the 2020 "
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...
Power 100 List". In 2020, Paul was listed at number nine in ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' list of the "World's Most Powerful Sports Agents".


Personal life

As of 2021, he is in a relationship with the English singer-songwriter
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Rich 1981 births Living people American sports agents Businesspeople from Cleveland Businesspeople from Akron, Ohio