SANTA MONICA, Calif. — NBA great LeBron James as a team owner? Don’t rule it out, his longtime agent and confidant said.
“I mean, he’s came out and said it,” Klutch Sports founder and CEO Rich Paul said on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast (video above; listen in below) at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
But at the same time, what does that actually mean? Right? You’re talking about an industry now in which owning a team cost billions,” Paul added. “Is it a good investment? Is it not a good investment? We don’t know. I know it was for those who got in early. Will these teams continue to grow? Will they continue to reach the value that they have to?”
His first big client was James. The two met in 2002 at the Akron-Canton Airport, where a young James was impressed by a jersey Paul was wearing. Numbers were exchanged, and the two stayed in close contact.
Paul went on to found Klutch Sports in 2012 in Cleveland, with James becoming a client. Klutch Sports now represents more than 300 athletes and is responsible for inking more than $400 billion in contracts. Other big-name clients Paul represents include NBA star Draymond Green and NFL phenom Jalen Hurts.
Talent agency UTA made an undisclosed investment in Klutch Sports in 2019 — Paul is now the head of UTA Sports as well.
All eyes are on what James, 40, decides to do after a surprise ouster in the first round of the playoffs. James has a $52 million player option for the 2025-2026 season with the LA Lakers.
The Ohio native is the first active NBA player to make the billionaires list in 2022. He has made investments in everything from Blaze Pizza to Fenway Sports Group, the ownership company of the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Liverpool FC.
Paul said James is in no rush to become an even bigger investor, as he still enjoys playing basketball at the highest level.
I think he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it,” Paul said. “That guy loves the game of basketball so much. I think it’s going to be extremely hard for him to exist in a world that doesn’t involve him playing the game.”
