New Yorks player Nerlens Noel is suing Lebron James and his best friend Rich Paul’ Klutch Sports agency for lost salary that amounts to $58 Million dollars.
Knicks center Nerlens Noel has filed a lawsuit against former agent Rich Paul and his firm, Klutch Sports, claiming he lost $58 million in potential salary while he was represented by Paul from 2017-20. https://t.co/bQ1pAoqF2P
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According to the lawsuit, Rich Paul told Noel that he was a “$100 million man” and could secure such a bag for him if he were to terminate his relationship with his then-agent. This conversation reportedly occurred during Ben Simmons’s birthday party in Los Angeles. After the two chatted, Noel severed ties with his agent and signed a Standard Player Agent Contract (SPAC) with Paul and Klutch Sports.
Under Paul’s direction, Noel ended negotiations with the Dallas Mavericks that would have paid him $70 million over 4-years, in favor of a one-year deal worth $4.1 million to seek a max deal on the free-agent market.
“During the free-agent season which began on July 1, 2018, and after Noel’s one-year contract with Dallas expired, neither Paul nor anyone at Klutch Sports presented any real proposals to Noel in terms of strategies or ideas on how Noel might secure a long-term contract or even a significant contract for the following season,” the complaint reads. “Indeed, as the 2018 NBA free agent season began, no real offers or deals were presented to Noel on the first day of free agency.”
Per Sports Agent Blog’s Darren Heitner:
“Noel wants to be made whole for losing what he says is $58 million in lost earnings after being led to leave Walters and pass up an offer from the Mavericks for $70 million over 4 years. He says that Paul breached his fiduciary duty by inducing Noel to terminate his representation agreement with Walters and then by failing to do any meaningful work on Noel’s behalf in terms of securing contracts, new endorsement deals, or by offering strategies to Noel on how to maximize his value and earnings.”
