In a startling, yet not surprising move, Chris Martin-enabler Jay-Z is reportedly selling his small share of the Brooklyn Nets in order to expand his sports agency to represent NBA players. And he doesn't care what you think.
Today on his Life + Times website, Jay-Z posted a Swizz Beats and Timbaland produced track entitled "Open Letter" in which he addresses both his move to sell his ownership stake in the team and his recent trip to Cuba with wife Beyonce, which came under speculation when two Republican congress members questioned their ability to travel to the restricted country.
The trip was in fact legal and okayed by the U.S. treasury department, but we'll let Sean Carter explain it himself:
"Politicians never did shit for me/ Except lie to me, distort history/ They wanna give me jail time and a fine-- Fine, let me commit a real crime/ Obama said, 'Chill, you're going to get me impeached'/ You don't need this shit anyway, chill with me on the beach."
But Hova, what about our beloved Nets? Are you really going to turn your back on us?
"I woulda moved the Nets to Brooklyn for free/ Except I made millions off you fucking dweebs/ I still own the building, I'm keeping my seats/ You buy that bullshit, you better keep your receipts."
Well then.
A minority owner of a professional sports team selling his share would rarely make the news—especially when his shares equate to .067 percent of the total ownership, equaling about $350K—but when you've been turned into the public face of a major sports franchise, things change. And when you're Jay-Z, there's little that doesn't make the news—even when that news has yet to be confirmed.
Yahoo Sports first reported that Jay-Z was shopping his share of the team in order to begin filing the necessary paperwork to become certified as an NBA player agent before the end of the season in order to participate in the upcoming June NBA draft.
However, this morning the Daily News is reporting that he hasn't even begun the process of MLB certification—a move that does not specifically prohibit ownership of an NBA team.
Still, it would seem to be a foregone conclusion considering Carter's recent immersion into the sports agency business, having partnered up with Creative Artists Agency and the recent signing of Yankee's star second baseman Robinson Cano earlier this month.
“I would say (Jay-Z) had an enormous amount to do with the re-branding of the team,” Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said before Tuesday’s game against the 76ers. “I was not close to it at all, but from what I heard and what I read and saw, he was huge — it would be hard to overstate how important he was to the rebranding.
"So it would be disappointing (if he left the Nets). I would be disappointed. I like his involvement with our team."
While no one expects Carter to do any actual agenting, he is expected to draw high-profile clientele using his cache. And like "Open Letter" would suggest, the move does not preclude him from owning a portion of the Barclays Center, where his 40/40 club and ROCAWEAR store currently reside. So to his point, he won't stop profiting from the Nets anytime soon.
It's hard to fault the business-mogul from making the lucrative move, but one has to wonder about the timing. The Nets are in the midst of a historical season by team standards and about to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Regardless, fans can surely expect to see Jay-Z sitting courtside when the Nets beat the Knicks in the playoffs. Let's just hope he's still wearing a Nets jersey.
