Norris Cole may not be a household name, but the former Miami Heat guard has two NBA championship rings and he claims a former agent cost him tens of millions of dollars in potential earnings.
Money Lost
Cole, who played alongside LeBron James during the Heat’s championship era, reflected on his career and priorities in an interview from a September 2024 Club 520 Podcast, which recently resurfaced on the Basketball Network.
Even though Cole said he was cheated out of a better deal, he points out he would rather have $50 million and his two NBA championship rings than $400 million without a title.
“I’m taking $50 million and my rings,” Cole said.
“For me and what I value, $50 million I can get anything I want,” he added. “How many Rolls-Royces, how many mansions can you get?”
The discussion was framed around the difference between financial success and championship success, with James Harden cited as an example of a player who has earned more than $400 million in NBA salary without winning an NBA championship.
Cole won back-to-back championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013, playing alongside James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen as a backup guard.
Cole earned approximately $8.4 million in NBA salary during his career, according to Spotrac, making the $50 million figure he referenced hypothetical.
Still he seems to believe he lost out on a significant amount of money because of his former representation.
During an August 2026 episode of the “OGs Podcast,” according to Larry Brown Sports, with former Heat teammates Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Cole discussed a deal he deemed bad made by a former agent.
While Cole does not say name of the agent, and he was represented by multiple agents though out his career, including super agent Rich Paul, known for the deals he has negotiated for LeBron James.
While he seems to be alluding to Paul, Cole said he initially trusted his agent to handle his negotiations and “didn’t even think twice about it.”
“But he did some bad negotiations. I caught wind of it late, and I ended up firing him,” Cole said.
Cole said firing a powerful agent created another problem because, in his view, the agent’s side wanted to “save face.”
“That’s what happened. They tried to make it seem like I was the greedy one,” Cole said.
Cole estimated that the situation cost him “probably” $70 million-$80 million in potential NBA earnings. This figure is not known to be tied to any offers to Cole.
Paul represented Cole from 2014 to 2016. In 2015, Cole, who was drafted in 2011, accepted a one-year, $3 million qualifying offer from the New Orleans Pelicans before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2016.
Cole ultimately left the NBA and continued his career overseas, aside from a brief 13-game stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017.