Report: Rich Paul's Klutch Sports Group in talks to open NFL division
There has been plenty of wondering over of the years about how LeBron James might fare in the NFL. Now, it looks like we're going to see how his agent does.
Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports Group — which represents James, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons and several other NBA players — is in talks with agent Damarius Bilbo to lead a new football division, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
NBA is now turning to the NFL: Klutch Sports Group, led by the well-known Rich Paul, is in talks with agent Damarius Bilbo to lead his football division, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2019
Bilbo represents a number of NFL players including Melvin Gordon, Alvin Kamara, Jarvis Landry and Xavien Howard. It’s unknown whether those players would follow him to Klutch.
A former Georgia Tech and NFL practice squad player, Bilbo received a three-month suspension earlier this year for reportedly misappropriating a marketing check meant for Landry.
The reported move into the NFL by Klutch could be related to the powerful United Talent Agency recently purchasing a “significant stake” in Klutch and installing Paul as its head of sports. UTA has represented NFL players like Rob Gronkowski before, per Variety, but only for non-sports activities.
It seems like that is about to change.
Klutch, and LeBron’s influence, reaches the NFL
Since its founding in 2012, Klutch has become one of the most well-known and divisive agencies in the NBA.
Plenty of eyebrows were raised during the sequence of events that resulted in James and Davis becoming Los Angeles Lakers teammates. That process included Davis getting hit with a $50,000 fine after Paul publicly pushed for a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Thanks to James’ close relationship with Paul, who was selling jerseys out of his trunk when he met the superstar, the agency has essentially become an extension of James’ influence. Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are all among the Klutch clients who have received surprisingly lucrative contracts from teams built around James.
The NBA has gone so far as to investigate Klutch to see if James holds an ownership stake in the business, reportedly determining he does not.
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