LeBron James and Rich Paul have been working together closely for decades now. Beyond their friendship, Paul holds an integral role within James’ inner circle. While the Akron Hammer has dominated the NBA on the court, Paul made huge moves on the business side of things.

More recently, Paul wrote a memoir about his upbringing and rise to success called “Lucky Me”. Due to this, he has been doing the rounds in several interviews in a recent appearance on a radio show. The CEO of Klutch Sports revealed how LeBron compensated his loyalty.

LeBron James Paid Rich Paul $2000 a Month to Stick Around

The Breakfast Club with Charlemagne Tha God and DJ Envy hosted Rich Paul recently. Paul discusses his book and also addresses his decades-long friendship with LeBron James. Interestingly, he revealed that LBJ paid to keep him around early in their friendship.

He talked a bit about their childhood growing up in the inner-city, just kilometers away from each other in Ohio.“We really bonded over our mothers, though, and I’m the last one to play the fake cousin thing. I’m from Cleveland; they’re from Akron. We weren’t friends; it wasn’t fake anything,” said Paul.

He further added, “He called me down to his house one day and asked me for my social security number. I was hesitant at first, thinking there’s no way I’m giving out my social security number. You know you can’t play with that. But after about 45 minutes, I ended up giving it to him. We had been to camps like Jordan Camp, Nike Camp, all these different camps. About a month or so later, I received a check in the mail. I remember not knowing how to read a check.”

Furthermore, Rich went on to elaborate, “My mother was like, ‘Yeah, you know you’re making $48,000 pretty much a year, $2,000 a month.”?The camaraderie between the two childhood buddies only strengthened in the years to come. He influenced a major shift in the NBA along with LeBron.

The Klutch Sports CEO Might have Altered NBA history

Rich Paul has represented James since 2003, and they began their careers together, becoming two of the most renowned names in the sports industry. In 2010, James made one of the most controversial decisions in NBA history when he departed from the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers. He bid farewell to the team that had drafted him in 2003, to join the Miami Heat.

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Although he accepted a lower salary when joining the Heat in 2010, his earnings grew significantly over the subsequent seasons. Additionally, James secured two of his four NBA titles while playing for the Heat.

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