United Talent Agency, one of the top leading representation firms in Hollywood, has teamed up with NBA agent Rich Paul to create a sports division for the entertainment company.
LeBron James’s agent will lead a new sports division at a Hollywood firm, the latest sign of athletes’ rising clout in big-money entertainment https://t.co/aDHB2wjCzm
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 17, 2019
Paul, who represents over two dozen NBA players, including LeBron James under his Klutch Sports Group banner, was named the head of U.T.A. Sports on Wednesday. Klutch will function as United Talent’s sports division while keeping its own branding.
“We’ve been looking for the right sports opportunity for quite a while,” said Jeremy Zimmer, the talent agency’s chief executive. “We have taken a significant stake in Klutch, but Rich retains very substantial controls because we want it to be his business and we love what he’s doing.”
U.T.A represents several high-profile actors, including Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, but big companies as well, such as Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, and General Motors.
The firm states it will need Paul’s connects in order to go head to head with other already established sports divisions: Creative Artists Agency and William Morris Endeavor.
This new partnership will also give Paul, 37, the golden ticket into Hollywood as his NBA resumé expands.
Back in June, Paul became the first basketball agent to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated—describing Paul as “the most discussed, admired, loathed, ridiculed, daring and feared” agent in the sport.
