“I’m going to do more for the athlete than they’re going to for me,” rap mogul and Roc Nation Sports founder Jay-Z told USA Today Sports this week.
Other than a few lyrics dissing super agent Scott Boras on his new album, those are the only words the hip hop legend has publicly uttered about his recent foray into the sports management business.
That all changed this week, when the former Brooklyn Nets minority owner told New York radio Station Power 105.1 “I do this because it’s an extension of the bigger goal. The bigger goal is for all artists to get their just due. Not to get half-a---d agents or people who rob them, who don’t care about their finances. They don’t even care about them. That’s why those guys go broke in four years.”
Thus far, Roc Nation has inked several heavyweight clients including Kevin Durant, Robinson Cano, Victor Cruz, Geno Smith and WNBA rookie Skylar Diggins. But it hasn’t been easy.
Back in May, Boras, who once represented Cano, told USA Today “To suggest that somebody is going to walk off the street and say, ‘I am a fan, I enjoy sports, so I can do this,’ is no different than somebody watching the Discovery channel and saying, ‘I’m a fan of medicine, I like surgery, so I’ll start operating on people. This is a profession. It’s a different environment. If you’re not singularly committed to this game, it’s a very ugly song.”
Never one at a loss for words, Jay-Z told Power “They have that thing, that belief that they can only do one thing. We don’t have that. We’re not inflicted with that disease. I can walk and chew gum. It’s insane to even say that. What does he know about sports?’ Everything.”
And there could soon be even more for him to deal with. News reports indicate Roc Nation officials meet with Los Angeles Dodgers rookie sensation Yasiel Puig last month and that the firm also has interest in signing fellow Cuban defector and Oakland A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.
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