Rich Paul, a close friend of LeBron James, is arguably the most influential sports agent today. He represents some of the greatest superstars in the NBA and NFL. Paul is synonymous with many of America’s highest-paid athletes. He has become a go-to option for players looking to secure lucrative contracts.
Paul had a great offseason. Two of his clients, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green, have reached multi-million dollar deals with the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, respectively. While they may have been the highlight of Paul’s past few months, he mentioned a surprising signing that he believes is just as important and important.
Rich Paul spoke on the Earn Your Leisure podcast about a little-known deal from this summer that left him very satisfied:
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“The biggest trade I made this summer was for a kid named Chris Livingston. He was the last pick in this year’s (NBA) draft. He was taken 58th overall by Milwaukee. The Bucks drafted. The reason I think this is the most important is because I think people underestimate the importance of starting something
“For me, being able to give this kid an opportunity, for him to have guaranteed money, where he doesn’t have to scratch and he can take some time to develop as a player. … It’s not about that to me. Money is an opportunity for growth for him.
Rich Paul is eye-opening as he views the Chris Livingston trade as the most important to him in the past few months. Livingston signed a four-year, $7.6 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, with $3 million guaranteed.
Paul has negotiated for Anthony Davis ($186 million), Draymond Green ($100 million), Fred VanVleet ($135 million), Jerami Grant ($1.6 billion) and Dejounte Murray ($114 million).
The founder of Klutch Sports also represents Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ($255 million), New York Jets DT Quinnen Williams ($100 million) and several other players. He highlighted the signing of Livingston, who has a $2 billion contract this offseason.
Rich Paul and LeBron James also had humble starts
Rich Paul started out as LeBron James’ agent/personal assistant before founding Klutch Sports Agency. He began his career as a sports agent, with the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar earning $50,000 a year at the time. Today, he is worth more than $100 million.
Paul represents the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s last NBA contract in 2022. “King James” agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Lakers worth $99.02 million. If the four-time MVP plays out the rest of his life, his salary will be a staggering $530 million.
Rich Paul became a close confidant of LeBron James and was partially responsible for the massive contracts the basketball star earned over the years. The sports agent became a multi-millionaire himself. Still, James’ humble beginnings were the biggest turning point in his life.
editor
Michael Macacello