“Scott Boras you over baby!/ Robinson Cano you coming with me/ These (present day agent) n—as is like rotary phones/ It’s a new day, hit up KD!”
That lyric from Jay Z’s “Crown” may put into perspective why his fellow sports agents seem to be so mad at him.
Forbes magazine published an excerpt of a recent Marquette Sports Law review called of all things, Jay Z Has 99 Problems, And Being A Sports Agent May Be One. In the review, some of Jay Z’s contemporaries in the sports agency world express some issues with the rapper and mogul.
Among the accusations levied against Jay are claims that he poaches athletes from other agencies despite said athletes being under contract, and that he interferes with contractual relationships.
Let’s call a spade a spade here. If we’re gonna keep it 100, this essentially boils down to the fact that these agents are not happy that this rapper is stepping in on their territory and that all the young athletes seem to want to go with him.
“Jay Z is by no means the only agent to raise such suspicion, but due to his worldwide fame, the suspicion surrounding him quickly becomes headline news,” the article says. “Whether Jay Z’s actions are actually a violation of any code of ethics is not necessarily clear, but some of his actions definitely have agents, media, and others complaining of unfair play.”
Sounds like a lot of hating going on.
Already boasting a roster of Kevin Durant, Robinson Cano, CC Sabathia, Victor Cruz, and the recently added Hakeem Nicks, it seems the rest of the sports agency world is just gonna have to deal and get used to Roc Nation Sports because they will be around for a while.
