Super agent Rich Paul is reportedly being sued by New York Knicks center Nerlens Noel after the former University of Kentucky product claims hiring Paul made him lose out on $58 million.
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.
An injury quickly soured the relationship as Noel began to regret the decision and Paul's and Klutch Sports' handling of the situation.
“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.”
Noel's complaint also states that Paul took a 4% commission fee for the one-year deal worth $4.1 million and got another 2% commission on his OKC deal which Noel claims Paul had nothing to do with securing.
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."
Source: sportsagentblog.com
