Friday, October 13, 2023, 7:00 PM, Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds, Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave, Evanston, IL 60201. Interviewer: Kevin Warren. BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY of Lucky Me at the event, while supplies last. No registration required.

“The minute I met Rich, I knew he was different … [He] helped me find my strength. Rich’s superpower isunderstanding what people truly need. So when you flip these pages and witness the kind of pain we feltgrowing up, don’t flinch. Hard truths make us stronger.”—LeBron James, from the Foreword to Lucky Me.

Super-agent Rich Paul is the CEO and founder of Klutch Sports Group, one of the most influential and culturally relevant sports agencies in the world. His roster is comprised of a who’s who of professional athletes. He has been both incredibly successful and profoundly disruptive to the world of professional sports. There’s a story about Paul that everyone knows: A twenty-one-year-old kid from Cleveland who sells sports jerseys out of his car meets a high school basketball phenom named LeBron James at an airport—the two become friends and forge a decades-long partnership that reinvents the business of sports. That random meeting might seem like the lucky break that changed Paul’s life. But a moment of good fortune means nothing without the struggle that gets you there and the lessons you carry with you to the other side.

Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds is a memoir of an extraordinary journey told in Paul’s blunt, philosophical style. How did Paul grow into an individual capable of changing an American institution like the NBA? How did he become so disruptive to traditional power structures that the NCAA tried to bar his entry to the league by implementing a rule requiring that agents have college degrees, which many dubbed the “Rich Paul Rule?” Lucky Me starts by charting how Rich became a gambler at an early age—his fast mind and gift for finding an edge made him a devastating dice roller who could hold his own with grown men, win big, and walk away alive. Shooting dice wasn’t just a pastime; it was a way to earn money for his family as his mother struggled under the weight of drug addiction. Paul dreamed of becoming a star athlete, but the streets were where he
thrived, building a lucrative enterprise on shaky ground. When he found himself at a dangerous crossroads, he summoned the teachings of his past to create a different future.

Mr. Paul will be in conversation with Kevin Warren, President and CEO of the Chicago Bears, the first Black President and CEO in Club history and the first President and CEO hired from outside the organization. A veteran executive of 21 years in the NFL, Warren joined the Bears after spending the last three years as Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference.

This event is suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded but not live streamed and will be available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.