Jay-Z To Sell Stake In Nets To Become Sports Agent
Image via Flickr/ Jose Goula
The Brooklyn Nets may have clinched their first playoff spot since 2007, but they’re about to lose their favorite mascot. Rap mogul Jay-Z, who helped usher the team from New Jersey to their new stadium in his hometown, plans to sell his stake in the team so he can become certified as a player agent. Jay-Z’s entertainment management company Roc Nation has partnered with Creative Artists Agency, and NBA rules prevent owners from representing players.
Jay-Z reportedly owns about one-fifteenth of 1 percent of the Nets. Let’s put that into perspective. If the Nets were a pizza, Jay-Z’s portion of the pie would be equal to about one mushroom. But it’s a really important mushroom… like one of those really expensive truffles. He had major input into the design of the interior of the $1 billion Barclays Center and even the team’s new black-and-white uniforms. Plus, he promoted the team in a series of eight sold-out concerts in September that debuted the new arena. And although Jay-Z has only attended a few games this season, his presence has created a much-needed buzz for the Nets’ first season in Brooklyn.
“It would be disappointing,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said to ESPN. “He had an enormous amount to do with the rebranding of the team. I wasn’t close to it at all, but from what I’ve seen, it would be hard to overstate his importance in this all. I like his involvement in the team; he’s at the games, and maybe he’s around more than I realize behind the scenes. But he’s an excellent fan, one that wasn’t just around this year, but a lot in the past too, which is very telling to me.“
So what now? Well, first Jay-Z has to sell his share in the team, which is valued at only about $350,000. He may just trade his ownership in the Nets to majority owner Mikhair Prokhorov for a larger stake in the Barklay’s Center. That way Brooklyn can keep their mushroom, and just call it a sausage.
Once that business is done, Jay-Z can move ahead with his plans to represent players. Roc Nation’s new sports agency division has already signed New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and hopes to compete for players in June’s NBA draft. In the partnership with CAA, the firm’s agents will handle contract negotiations while Jay-Z uses his star power to influence business and entertainment. And there’s little doubt he’ll go far. Who wouldn’t take a call from Jay-Z, after all?
