Klutch Sports Group working with MSE on partnerships amid Capital One Arena renovation

Klutch Sports Group is known for representing high-profile athletes across some of North America’s largest leagues, but the agency is also expanding its brand representation, which now includes Monumental Sports & Entertainment as it prepares to undergo an $800M-plus renovation of Capital One Arena.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but MSE President of New Media & Enterprises Zach Leonsis said Klutch will work with MSE to drive partnership revenue and new partnership possibilities as it looks to reinvent Capital One Arena. MSE recently announced a number of major partnerships including with United Airlines and KPMG.

Speaking at SBJ’s Dealmakers conference in D.C., Klutch Sports Group founder & CEO Rich Paul said the decision to ink a deal with MSE came due to multiple factors.

“I felt like the brand [MSE] was strong enough and had a reputation around all the leagues that was respected,” Paul said.

Paul said the additions of Andrew Feinberg, Klutch’s Head of Global Partnerships and UTA’s SVP of Sports & Brand Insights Caryn Rosoff has made the decision to venture further into the space much easier.

Klutch announced in September it would be NYCFC’s agency of record for its Founding Partnerships at its new soccer-specific stadium.

“You’ve got to crawl before you walk and we had to take the baby steps,” Paul said.

Despite its footprint as being a powerhouse agency, Paul said he’s not the biggest fan of being called an agent.

“I just don’t want to only think about the transaction,” Paul said. “I try to be somebody in the room that adds value no matter what we’re doing. It could be picking out curtains or the furniture, whatever the case may be.”

Paul’s approach to working with his clients to build their brands comes from a place of maintaining authenticity, setting themselves up for the future, but also from a space of educated and informed decision-making.

“I talk about how do we become tomorrow’s representation team? How are we thinking about not only where the athlete is today, but where they’re actually trying to go and how can we authentically help them without it being anything in it for us per se,” Paul said.

That approach means creating a strategic team to help them in every aspect of their life and show them opportunities they might not have thought of.

“I try to get our guys and girls to understand, look at the entire ecosystem of sport and decide where you want to be and while you’re playing the game, do the things that can help get yourself closer to doing those other things. Because right now sports is the leading thing across globally,” Paul said.