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On September 19, singer Adele officially confirmed her relationship with partner Rich Paul by posting snaps of them together on Instagram. The two were first rumored to be together when Adele accompanied Paul to an NBA finals game in July.
The rumors were further corroborated when ESPN sportswriter Brian Windhorst claimed on The Lowe Post podcast that Rich brought his partner Adele to an NBA game. He said:
“Rich Paul, brings his girlfriend to the game to sit next to LeBron, his girlfriend is Adele. Rich Paul is at the game with Adele, LeBron is watching the game with Adele. This is the first time that they’ve come out in public together.”
After being spotted together in public several times since July, Adele finally confirmed their status by captioning their snap with a heart emoji.
Who is Adele’s new beau, Rich Paul?
Rich Paul is a sports agent based out of Los Angeles, California. He is also the CEO of sports agency Klutch Sports Group, which he co-founded with NBA star LeBron James.
Paul is almost 40 years old and was born in Cleveland, Ohio, around 100 miles from LeBron James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio. After graduating high school, he sold vintage player jerseys.
He reportedly met his good friend LeBron in 2002 while selling jerseys. As per his interview with ESPN in 2012, Rich Paul sold LeBron James a Magic Johnson Lakers jersey and a Joe Namath Rams jersey.
Rich Paul’s career and sports agency with LeBron James
Paul had worked under Leon Rose at Creative Artists Agency, where Rose was LeBron’s agent. In 2012, Rich Paul left with LeBron to form their own agency, Klutch Sports Group.
Later in 2019, the Ohio native also formed a partnership with the United Talent Agency (UTA) and was asked to assume control over their sports division. Last year, Rich Paul ultimately became a member of their board of directors.
According to Forbes, Klutch Sports Group specializes in brokering deals for football and basketball-associated clients. This has allowed them to have contracts for around 49 clients and manage a contract of over $1.68 billion in value.
Furthermore, the firm handles over 28 clients who have over a million-dollar contract with their respective teams.
Paul helping change NCAA rules
In August 2019, Rich Paul was highly vocal about his disapproval of the NCAA’s new rule, which mandated agents to have a bachelor’s degree. Paul wrote an op-ed in The Athletic, where he wrote:
“Requiring a four-year degree accomplishes only one thing — systematically excluding those who come from a world where college is unrealistic.”
Paul’s public criticism over the proposed regulations was part of the reason that caused the NCAA to nix the proposed changes.
