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“What’s the Sense in Having Money With No Options?”: Handling $4 Billion+ of NBA Business, Rich Paul Justifies ‘Ruining Player Loyalty’

Published 10/09/2023, 8:01 AM EDT

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The NBA is a competitive place and people find it tough to survive in the business of basketball. In fact, the average length of an NBA player’s career is 4.8 years, which is the second lowest after the NFL. Players try to take advantage of the opportunity by either winning titles or generating generational wealth. In this ecosystem of basketball, players’ agents play an important role, both on and off the court.

The most renowned and polarizing agent in the NBA is Rich Paul. The super-agent who has netted his clients almost $4 billion dollars worth of contracts sat down for an interview with 60 Minutes. And he had a pretty interesting opinion on player loyalty.

Rich Paul’s thoughts on player loyalty

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The NBA is a multi-billion dollar industry, the teams of the NBA generated combined revenues of around 10 billion U.S. dollars in the 2021/22 season. And players are the beating heart of this prosperous industry. They are the superstars fans pay the big bucks for and in return they are handed out multi-million dollar contracts.

On many occasions, the players don’t negotiate their contracts, as they want to focus on basketball. In this instance, player agents come into the picture, as they help their clients get the best deal possible.

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Amongst various agents, Rich Paul reigns supreme. He has superstars like LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green. The super-agent sat down with 60 Minutes for an interview.

The interviewer quizzed him about player loyalty and he said, “Player loyalty to What? If I could be traded in the middle of the night to another team, what I should be is educating myself to where, if this isn’t going the way I thought it was supposed to go, I can switch up. What’s the sense of having money with no options?”

That’s why Paul works with so many major names in the sports world. He’s unapologetic in pursuing his clients’ best interests.

Rich Paul: The King Maker

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Rich Paul is a prominent sports agent and founder of Klutch Sports Group. Notably, his first client is his long-time friend LeBron James

They are widely recognized for representing some of the NBA’s biggest stars. Paul’s clientele includes Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Draymond Green and many other stars. Klutch Sports Group focuses on athlete representation and management.

Paul has gained a reputation for empowering players and representing their interests on and off the court.

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His work has reshaped the landscape of athlete representation in professional sports, making him a respected and influential figure in the world of sports management.

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Written by:

Dushyant Singh

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Dushyant Singh is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. His basketball script journey began in 2020 when he was captivated by the Los Angeles Lakers’ triumphant NBA championship win. Before that he was merely dribbling and dunking as a boy next door.
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Edited by:

Aakash Nair