by Jeroslyn JoVonn
July 2, 2025
Rich Paul offers advice to those who feel “entitled” to a work promotion.
Klutch Sports Founder and LeBron James associate Rich Paul is fresh off the heels of releasing his MasterClass course “The Dealmaker’s Mindset” and is explaining why promotions should be earned and not expected.
“When you’re trying to get a salary bump, you shouldn’t feel entitled to it,” Paul told CNBC. “Look around and really be honest about how replaceable or irreplaceable you may be, and that has to come through the lens of doing great work [and] consistently raising that level of work ethic or [impact].”
Just because you do the job you were hired to do, or have been with a company for a certain amount of time, doesn’t qualify you for a raise, Paul says. Instead, the self-made sports mogul emphasizes the importance of being a self-starter with a willingness to learn and going above and beyond.
“The getting in early, leaving late, the not complaining, not being asked to do something, the proactive thinking” is what’ll add some digits to that paycheck, Paul said.
The head of sports at United Talent Agency says being a self-starter is what helped him launch Klutch Sports, the agency now representing stars like LeBron James and Odell Beckham Jr. After a chance meeting with James at an airport when he was 21, Paul threw himself into learning the ins and outs of the NBA.
He later joined Creative Artists Agency, working under James’s then-agent Leon Rose. By 2012, Paul had launched Klutch Sports, with James as his very first client.
“The only thing Rich received from me is an opportunity,” James wrote in the foreword of Paul’s book, “Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds.”
Now overseeing an entire company payroll, Paul urges those seeking a raise to focus on learning and expanding their “range within the workplace.” He emphasizes that promotions aren’t usually handed out; most people have to earn them by proving their value.
“Oftentimes, we look for what was given to us in kindergarten. You know, you do well and you have a piece of candy or a gold star on your paper,” he said. “It doesn’t work like that in the real world.”
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