Rich Paul

Paul used to live 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.[1] His father felt he needed more structure than public school could provide and enrolled him in Benedictine, a Roman Catholic high school across the town.[1][2] His father died of cancer in 1999.[1]

After graduating from high school, Paul bought his first house at 19 and was mentored by Distant Replays owner Andy Hyman on selling vintage jerseys.[2] He would buy throwback jerseys from Atlanta and selling them out of his trunk in Cleveland, making $10,000 on a good week.[3][2] 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.[3]

In 2003, after the NBA draft, James asked Paul to be a part of his small inner circle, along with James' childhood friends Maverick Carter and Randy Mims.[4] Paul quickly obliged. 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 left Rose and CAA to start his own agency, Klutch Sports Group, and took James with him.[5] By 2019, Klutch had a roster of 25 clients and brokered over $972.1 million contracts.[2] Later that year, he was United Talent Agency (UTA) asked him to run its sports division where he expanded the sports clients from 4 to 23.[6] In 2020, Rich accepted a position on UTA's board of directors.[7]

Due to his work with James, Paul has expanded a players' market with unprecedented forays into new revenue streams. This provides a client with more control, power, and influence in an organization. Arn Tellem praised Rich for his humility, work ethic, and empathy which help him to build great relationships with his clients.[2]

In August 2019, the NCAA changed its regulations for agents, requiring them to hold a bachelors 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 rather than attend Syracuse.[6] Paul argued in an op-ed in The Atlantic 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.[8] The NCAA later backed down from the regulation change.[6]

Paul was included in 2020 Ebony Power 100 List.[9]