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From the court to the field: Klutch Sports plans their NFL takeover
The mighty force that is Klutch Sports has just gotten even stronger.
Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports Group has worked out a deal to acquire Damarius Bilbo’s Revolution Sports.
Bilbo will head Klutch’s football division, already having signed top prospects Chase Young and Jeff Okudah. Plus, current NFL standouts Jarvis Landry and Alvin Kamara.
NBA is now turning to the NFL: Klutch Sports Group, led by the well-known Rich Paul, is in talks with agent Damarius Bilbo to lead his football division, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2019
Damarius Bilbo is not just an addition to Klutch. He is an integral piece of an expansion that will give Klutch Sports an even bigger foothold into the world of athletics and entertainment.
Already having set the bar, Klutch is continuing to change the way agents and athletes coexist and use their respective platforms.
Klutch Sports was started in 2012 by Rich Paul, a longtime friend and close confidant of NBA superstar LeBron James.
Since then, Paul has grown his brand and cemented his status as a smart and innovative agent, and now has a multitude of NBA stars and veterans signed under Klutch.
Among these names with LeBron are Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis, John Wall, and Draymond Green.
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The power that Rich Paul has amassed in the NBA over such a short period of time has scared the establishment. The powers that be over the last several decades sat idly by and watched as their superstar players raked in money for them.
But Paul came in and flipped the script.
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NBA players have more power now than ever. Now owners actually have to do right by their players, and if they don’t? They’ll force their way out like Anthony Davis.
Paul came under scrutiny by a litany of NBA personnel for orchestrating Davis’ departure from the New Orleans Pelicans.
The moniker #KlutchMafia was used by haters and fans alike to describe the power that the agency holds. But Paul was only doing right by his client in Davis, and is that not exactly what agents are supposed to do?
#KlutchMafia https://t.co/7QmHSImZdk
— Ry (@JustRyCole) June 27, 2019
Now Klutch Sports enters into the realm of the NFL, a league where players hold significantly less power than players in the NBA. The NFL is about the team, the shield, an entity bigger than the player themselves. But Bilbo sees it a bit differently.
“Football is a game that’s played with a helmet. It hides your identity. It hides certain expressions. It hides certain things you say. But the helmet has to come off. You’re not in the helmet 24/7.”
Citing his client Alvin Kamara and his individuality, Bilbo further told GQ, “You have very few players like the Alvin Kamaras of the world, that are not afraid of being themselves.
He continued, “I think when players start to see that, they start to follow suit and say, ‘Look, I’m different. I’m not like everybody else. I can play football, but I’m just not a football player…
“I’m more than an athlete.'”
Empowering athletes is what Klutch Sports is all about. With the news of Bilbo and Revolutionary Sports’ inclusion into Klutch Sports, NFL owners are not just a little bit shook.
In Bilbo’s interview with GQ, he also spoke up about how the NFL could have used the Kaepernick-kneeling situation to its benefit.
“It’s no different than the NFL and breast cancer. ‘Think pink.’ They turned a whole month into something that benefits people across the world with breast cancer. The NFL could have easily taken what Colin Kaepernick did and turned it into a whole month, done programs around it, no different than they did with breast cancer.”
Bilbo stressed how owners are the ones with power, the ones that can make changes, but, aside from Jerry Jones, owners don’t really speak up on issues, and if they did, people wouldn’t really listen.
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Players have the public’s attention, and they should be encouraged to speak up. It is their ethical right. Additionally, it would be mutually beneficial for both the players’ and NFL’s brands.
“So train the players on how to address certain issues. They need to meet with someone inside the organization, [to talk about] what they’re passionate about and what difference they want to make as community leaders,” said Bilbo.
He continued, “When you look at guys like LeBron—and the roster that Rich has with Klutch—that’s the message he sent and that’s what will continue to be done.”
Klutch Sports is the poster child for athletes getting their full worth, positing the position that athletes are more than their sport, and encouraging athletes to use their platform and power to promote positive change in their communities.
Damarius Bilbo’s addition to the Klutch brand should be a warning sign for the NFL and a welcome sign for sports fans. Change is coming, and Paul and Bilbo don’t care if you like it.
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