LeBron James and Rich Paul. Credits: Imago
Speaking on the BS w/ Jake Paul podcast, Rich Paul recently went into detail about his fledging jersey hustle when he first met LeBron James, back in 2022. Paul, who is LeBron James’ long-term agent, is now one of the biggest names in the sports agents industry and has a net worth of around $120 million. However, it was a music video by Rapper Fabolous that played a huge part in the serendipitous first meeting between the two, which happened at the Akron-Canton Airport.
On the podcast, Paul initially went into detail about the kind of hustle he went through in order to establish himself. He claimed that he coincidentally saw a Hardwood Classics section at an NBA store, which led him to contact a store in Atlanta.
“A store in Atlanta came up called Distance Replays. Long story short, I was the first person to call that store, me and this guy develop a relationship I am shopping with him every week. I am spending a $1000 to $1500 with him every week,” Paul revealed.
Within a couple of months, Paul had shopped with the store owner enough to want to invest in his store. However, the owner refused, which led to Paul using him as the source of inventory. The story doesn’t end here.
“Two months later, I asked him can I invest in his business…He says I can’t let you do that, here is what I can do. If you are willing to work in the store, I worked in my dad’s store no problem, I will give you 40% off whatever you buy. Now I got the inventory. Now I am selling jerseys to everybody,” Paul added.
Hence, not only was the start of his jersey business a mere coincidence due to him looking for a jersey at an NBA store, but Paul also had to work past a range of obstacles to initially establish himself. He succeeded, and one fine day, came across a kid who was impressed with a Warren Moon jersey that he was wearing.
LeBron, however, only recently told Paul exactly what made the player talk to him. “I asked Bron, what made you say something to me about that jersey? And he said, man, I was waiting on my ride to take me to this airport, last thing I saw before I left my house, was the Fabolous video. And he had that jersey on. And so when you came to the airport, at the gate, it just prompted me to say something about it,” he claimed. Even Fabolous, after it was revealed, reacted to the video crediting him behind the meeting of Paul and James.
Paul claimed he could see LeBron James was wearing a replica jersey, and wanted the youngster to know where he could get originals from. That, in addition to the possibility of making a quick buck, was the reason why he entertained the ‘kid’.
Talk about a series of coincidences. The two were seemingly destined to meet and obviously went on to have a hugely successful relationship as well.
Rich Paul is now one of the biggest sports agents in the world
Rich Paul’s street smartness was only one of the many useful traits he possessed. An able negotiator and highly opportunistic, Paul has now brokered deals worth more than $4,000,000,000 in his career, according to CBS.
Paul today has more than 35 NBA stars in his portfolio, even though it all began with a conversation with LeBron James at an airport. The two continue to remain close friends and James has been highly appreciative of the kind of support Paul has lent for him.
Recently, Rich Paul received a tribute from his partner Adele when she won at the 2023 Grammy Awards. This was followed by James gifting him a $140,000 watch, just two weeks later.
The two icons, together, have undoubtedly managed unparalleled success in the last two decades, and will not be stopping anytime soon.
