By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
More Jay-Z sports agent news. Jay-Z is without a doubt one of Hip Hop’s most successful business men, but with any successful business person comes a lot of criticism. Of course he’s no stranger to being targeted by critics and even his most recent deal with Samsung hasn’t exactly been praised by most. However, Jay-Z’s new venture into the sports industry is most likely his main focus as of now, and just a couple of months after launching Roc Nation Sports, things really continue to take off for the new company. Not only has Jay signed several star athletes, but he’s also managed to overcome investigations and find a way around certification requirements. If the agents weren’t happy already with Jay-Z’s swift reign with young athletes, they really won’t like the new developments. According to Jay-Z’s camp, Jigga is now a licensed NBA agent. The timing couldn’t be better considering Kevin Durant has reportedly expressed he wants to sign to Roc Nation Sports just days after firing his agent. ESPN reports:
Ron Berkowitz, a spokesman for Roc Nation Sports, confirmed to ESPN.com that, as of this week, Jay-Z is now licensed to work as an NBA agent. Juan Perez, president of Roc Nation Sports, also is now certified with the National Basketball Players Association.
The news was first reported by the Sports Business Journal.
What’s not clear is how soon Jay-Z can represent players. A source close to the situation said that, as of Wednesday, the hip-hop mogul had not sold his small ownership share (less than 1 percent) of the Brooklyn Nets.
Industry speculation is Jay-Z might be able to sign players as long as he agrees to pass off his share of the Nets in the near future. Owners of NBA teams cannot represent players.
The first NBA player Jay-Z is expected to sign is Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant, who told his agent, Rob Pelinka, in recent days that he would sign with Jay-Z. Durant has not commented publicly.
Congrats to Jay-Z.
I love it.
Just more for people to hate on. Congrats.
Does he ever take a break? LOL. 😉
Another win. Congrats to him.
Yay! He’s about to shut the sports industry down! I’m happy to see a black man do this.
Man Jay-Z’s level of ambition is crazy. No wonder Beyonce married him.
Exactly!
*In Bey’s voice* Any questions?
Yasss!!!
Very impressive. Congrats.
I know the other agents are worried. LOL.