Jay-Z’s partnership with the NFL may be taken to the next level.
Days after JAY-Z announced a new partnership deal with the NFL to help combat social injustice, TMZ reported that the billionaire mogul has plans to become a part-owner of an NFL team soon. Sources say that Hov is going to have a “significant ownership interest” in a team, although the specific team was not immediately made known. Sean “JAY-Z” Carter does have experience in team ownership from buying a stake in the Brooklyn Nets, although he sold it in 2013.
The ownership plans comes as part of a broader deal that Jay has conjured up with the league, one that he’s been facing backlash for all week. On Tuesday the NFL announced that Roc Nation will now have a hand in entertainment efforts as well as helping the league address social justice issues. The league has been the scene of controversy since Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality in 2016 by kneeling during the national anthem.
Since then, JAY-Z took his own stance against the NFL, turning down the offer to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show and criticizing other artists for doing so, all based on the fact that the league has yet to hire Kaepernick back since his protests. When asked in a press conference Wednesday about his change of heart, the Brooklyn rapper said it was time to move past kneeling and take action.
“Now we all know what’s going on, what are we going to do? Because the kneeling was not about a job. It was about injustice. ‘Let me bring attention to injustice.’ Everyone is saying ‘How are you going forward and Kaep doesn’t have a job?’ This wasn’t about him having a job.”
His words sparked debate among fans and critics, those of which have said JAY-Z is using Kaepernick’s sacrifice as a money grab. But the 49-year-old mogul has a history of fighting for the culture. It was only months ago he and Meek Mill teamed up to create the REFORM alliance to help parolees who are unfairly trapped in the legal system.
So this new twist of his ownership interests only adds a layer to an already complicated situation. Details of the amount of money JAY-Z will receive from the multiyear partnership were not made available.
