Rich Paul Explained

Rich Paul
Birth Name:Richard Paul
Birth Date:16 December 1980
Height Ft:5
Height In:9
Birth Place:Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation:Sports agent
Founder, Klutch Sports Group
Years Active:2003–present
Spouse:Adele
Partner:Adele (2021–present; engaged)
Children:3

Rich Paul (born December 16, 1980) is an American sports agent and founder of Klutch Sports Group. His most notable client is basketball player LeBron James with whom he is also a longtime friend.

Early life

Paul grew up in a one-bedroom apartment above his father's store, R & J Confectionery, on East 125th and Arlington in Forest Hills, a neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland. His father enrolled him in the private, fee-paying Benedictine High School, a Catholic school.[1] His father Rich Paul Sr. [2] died of cancer in 1999.[3]

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 and sell them out of his trunk in Cleveland. In 2002, he met LeBron James at the Akron–Canton Airport, where James was impressed by Paul's authentic Warren Moon throwback jersey.[4] The two exchanged contact information, and soon Paul had sold James a Magic Johnson Lakers jersey and a Joe Namath Rams jersey.[5]

Career

Following the 2003 NBA draft, Paul joined James as a part of his small inner circle, along with James' childhood friends Maverick Carter and Randy Mims. He would later start working under Leon Rose, who had negotiated James' extension with the Cavaliers in 2006, at Creative Artists Agency. In 2012, Paul, along with James, left Rose and CAA to start his own agency, Klutch Sports Group.[6] In 2013, Paul enlisted noted long-time agent and attorney Mark Termini to run the NBA contract negotiations for Klutch.[7] [8] 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. It was around this time Paul picked up the nickname in agency circles, “Rich” Paul referring to the commission he began to take in.[9] Later that year, United Talent Agency (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.[10] In 2020, he accepted a position on UTA's board of directors.[11] [12]

Before the start of the 2017–18 season, Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver had told Paul that if he did not sever ties to head coach Earl Watson, 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,[13] and replaced on an interim basis by associate head coach Jay Triano 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 to a new owner eight days afterward. [14] Sarver eventually sold his stake with the team and some extra minority stakes to a new ownership group led by Mat Ishbia and his older brother Justin Ishbia on December 20, 2022, which was made official on February 8, 2023.[15] [16]

In August 2019, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (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 who decided to work as an intern for New Balance for a year before entering the 2019 NBA draft rather than attend Syracuse or even enter the NBA G League like he first planned to do. Paul argued in an op-ed in The Athletic 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.[17] The NCAA later backed down from the regulation change.

In 2020, Paul launched "Klutch Conversations" during the NBA All-Star Weekend with SocialWorks and General Mills to encourage financial literacy among young people.[18]

In August 2021, Rich Paul was reportedly being sued by Nerlens Noel on the grounds of a breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and negligence for his role in turning down a $70 million contract offer from the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason preceding the 2017–18 season.[19] The two eventually reached a settlement on January 11, 2023, with Noel paying full commissions on a $5 million deal he signed in 2020 with the New York Knicks and Noel withdrawing all legal proceedings afterward.[20]

Personal life

Paul has three children.[21] In 2021, he entered into a relationship with British singer Adele.[22] [23] In 2024, she announced they were engaged during one of her Munich concerts.[24] [25] [26] [27]

He was included in the 2020 "Ebony Power 100 List".[28] In 2022, Paul was listed at fourth on Forbes list of the "World's Most Powerful Sports Agents".[29] [30]

Notes and References

  1. Price. S. L.. Behind the scenes with Rich Paul: The NBA's new king maker. February 9, 2021. Sports Illustrated. en-us.
  2. Web site: Rich Paul Bio, Wiki, Age, Height, Family, Adele, Net Worth, Contract, House, Watches, Instagram . August 11, 2024.
  3. Web site: An Agent of Change . New York Times . August 18, 2014 . August 18, 2014.
  4. Web site: The chosen's one. Chris. Broussard. ESPN. December 25, 2012.
  5. Web site: Meet Rich Paul, The Man Who Orchestrated LeBron's Return To Cleveland . Business Insider . July 14, 2014 . August 18, 2014.
  6. Web site: LeBron James Leaves CAA, Childhood Friend will Represent Him . International Business Times . September 13, 2012 . August 18, 2014.
  7. Web site: Zillgitt . Jeff . LeBron James rep Klutch Sports adds top agent Termini . USA Today . June 8, 2021 . January 15, 2013.
  8. Web site: Price . S.L. . The King Maker: Why Rich Paul Will Own the NBA Summer . SI.com . June 8, 2021 . June 12, 2019.
  9. Stein . Marc . TheSteinLine . 1362801667574427650 . February 19, 2021 . Mark Termini, the longtime agent and attorney who led negotiations on the $1.4 billion in NBA contracts closed by Klutch Sports from 2014-2019, is no longer affiliated with the agency, league sources say. . en . June 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210304073654/https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1362801667574427650 . March 4, 2021 . live.
  10. Web site: Skipper. Clay. Rich Paul Is Rewriting the Rulebook. February 9, 2021. GQ. December 16, 2019. en-us.
  11. Web site: McNary. Dave. July 27, 2020. LeBron James' Agent Rich Paul Named to UTA Board. February 9, 2021. Variety. en-US.
  12. News: Stein. Marc. July 17, 2019. LeBron James's Agent, Rich Paul, Starts a Sports Division at a Hollywood Firm (Published 2019). en-US. The New York Times. February 10, 2021. 0362-4331.
  13. http://www.nba.com/suns/suns-relieve-earl-watson-head-coaching-duties Suns Relieve Earl Watson of Head Coaching Duties
  14. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32440987/phoenix-suns-robert-sarver-allegations-racism-misogyny Allegations of racism and misogyny within the Phoenix Suns
  15. Web site: December 20, 2022 . Ishbia agrees to Suns purchase for record $4B . December 27, 2022 . ESPN.com . en.
  16. Web site: January 25, 2023 . Sources: Mat Ishbia's purchase of Suns, Mercury to be official soon . January 30, 2023 . espn.com . en-US.
  17. News: Paul. Rich. Op-ed: Rich Paul on the NCAA's new restrictions for player-agents. February 9, 2021. The Athletic.
  18. Web site: Young. Jabari. February 11, 2020. Power agent Rich Paul launching Klutch Conversations during NBA All-Star weekend. February 10, 2021. CNBC. en.
  19. Web site: O'Donnell. Ricky. August 25, 2021. Nerlens Noel is suing Rich Paul for fumbling the bag. October 11, 2021. SBNation.com. en.
  20. Web site: Nerlens Noel Settles Lawsuit with Rich Paul, Will Pay Commission on Knicks Contract . .
  21. Web site: Brockington . Ariana . June 12, 2022 . Adele's boyfriend Rich Paul talks having more kids and 'being a different dad' . May 16, 2023 . TODAY.com . en.
  22. Web site: Greene . Jordan . Who is Adele's boyfriend, Rich Paul? The singer says she's 'in love' . Today . April 12, 2023.
  23. Web site: Murphy . Nichola . Everything Adele has said about £750k engagement ring and secret Rich Paul wedding plans . Hello Magazine . February 28, 2023 . April 12, 2023.
  24. Web site: Dailey . Hannah . 2024-08-09 . Adele & Rich Paul Engaged: Singer Reveals She’s ‘Getting Married’ at Munich Concert . 2024-08-09 . . en-US.
  25. News: The Independent. Adele appears to confirm she’s engaged to Rich Paul.
  26. News: Sky News. Adele tells Munich concert crowd she's engaged.
  27. Web site: BuzzFeed. Adele Finally Confirmed That She's Engaged To Rich Paul In A Way That Only Adele Could Do.
  28. Web site:
    1. teamEBONY
    . February 26, 2020. 2020 EBONY POWER 100 LIST. November 10, 2020. EBONY. en-US.
  29. Web site: Sports Agents − The List . . 2020 . . July 8, 2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308042943/https://www.forbes.com/sports-agents/list/ . March 8, 2022.
  30. Web site: Profile: Rich Paul . . December 22, 2020 . Forbes . July 8, 2022 . live . https://archive.today/20220708133911/https://www.forbes.com/profile/rich-paul/?list=sports-agents&sh=4a596b6e2d97 . July 8, 2022.