Kyrie Irving’s Stepmom to Become First Black Woman Agent to Negotiate, Complete NBA Contract

Kyrie Irving’s hiring of stepmom Shetellia Riley Irving makes her the only Black woman agent currently representing an NBA player, but her stats themselves are also making waves in the league.

The former vice president of ad sales at BET is reportedly at the helm of a three-year, $126 million deal of behalf of her stepson and his move from the Brooklyn Nets to the Dallas Mavericks, according to the Associated Press.

Irving seemingly confirmed the transition, tweeting “Da11as” from his account, with his jersey number replacing letters in the city’s spelling.

DA11AS 🤞🏾♾❤️

— Chief Hélà 🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) July 1, 2023

In March 2022, Riley was appointed as Irving’s agent. Shams Charania broke the news via Twitter of her groundbreaking contract a little over a year later .

Kyrie Irving’s agent, Shetellia Riley Irving, will become the first Black woman to negotiate and complete an NBA contract. https://t.co/hcI5HaKDAe

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2023

Her successful business dealings come months after her Sports Illustrated profile, which detailed how she went from stepmom to sports agent.

“We’ve built trust and consistency. I don’t want Kyrie to come back two years from now saying, ‘I signed this really bad deal and it didn’t make sense,’ because he didn’t understand it, or it was just about a money grab. That’s something that we’re really being intentional about, especially in the things that we look to align ourselves with.”

Irving went on to thank his agent and their family-led team, including his father (and Riley’s former husband) as business manager, in a tweet about their help throughout the process,

Big Shoutout to
My Agent Shetellia Riley Irving
and
My business manager Drederick Irving,
who did a great job throughout the whole entire process.
Thank you
A11EVEN MANAGEMENT FIRM

Hélà
🤞🏾♾

— Chief Hélà 🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) June 30, 2023

While official confirmation is sealed until free agency is over, Riley Irving is on track to become a part of NBA history. It’s clear her business acumen speaks for itself, as well as paving the way for fellow Black women agents to take the lead on sports contracts.

“I think the only or the biggest weight on my shoulders was the fact that there were so many other people watching to see how well I did this,” the groundbreaking agent shared to SI. “Because if I do this, right, it opens the door for so many other Black women. And we get a chance to have more than a seat at the table.”