Image via Complex Original
Back in April 2013, a short time after Jay Z announced that he was launching a new company called Roc Nation Sports that was going to cater to athletes, there was one question that a lot of people both inside and outside of the sports world asked: Will it work? At the time, Jay Z was a reputable businessman and had a ton of experience in the music and fashion worlds. But sports was a relatively new lane for him and there were some industry analysts who didn't think he was going to be able to succeed in the sports arena.
So much for that! Over the course of the last year, Jay Z has helped former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano sign a new 10-year, $240 million deal. He has also assembled a really solid stable of clients, which now features nine big-time athletes including Kevin Durant, C.C. Sabathia, Rusney Castillo, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Geno Smith, James Young, and Skylar Diggins in addition to Cano. And from the looks of things, Roc Nation Sports is just getting started and seems to have its sights set on taking over the sports world.
However, despite all of their recent success, Roc Nation Sports is still a little bit of a mystery to many people. Outside of the Q&A that Roc Nation Sports president Juan Perez did with GQ earlier this year, Roc Nation Sports employees don't do many interviews. But Perez did just grant a series of in-person and phone interviews to the New York Post and revealed a little bit more about the past, present, and future of Roc Nation. After reading it, here are the 7 Things We Learned From the New York Post's Profile on Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports.
1. Jay Z and Juan Perez first came up with the idea to start Roc Nation Sports in 2008 or 2009.
When Jay Z first announced that he was starting Roc Nation Sports last year, it kind of came out of left field—almost like he had just decided to do it out of the blue. But the truth is that Jay Z and Perez had been sitting on the idea to start a company like Roc Nation Sports for years.
"We talked about doing this maybe five, six years ago," Perez said. "It's just the time wasn't right. Jay just brought it up to me again. 'Why not just add the sports to it?' We always talk about how entertainment and sports go together, but nobody has put it together. So let's do it."
2. Roc Nation Sports is focused on taking star athletes and making them even bigger stars.
The Roc Nation Sports roster is small, but that's by design. They don't want to simply sign everyone who wants Roc Nation Sports to represent them. Rather, they want to sign star athletes and then help them turn into even bigger stars than they already are, which will in turn allow them to sign bigger endorsement deals.
"Our job is to take our athletes and create star power around them," Roc Nation Sports president and chief of branding and strategy Michael Yormark said. "That's the job we do off the field."
And it's a job that they already seem to be doing well. According to the Post, C.C. Sabathia signed a better deal with Jordan Brand than the one he already had in place thanks to Roc Nation Sports.
3. Roc Nation Sports will make exceptions for certain young players, though, based on their potential.
Roc Nation Sports isn't going to simply go around and sign all marquee names to their roster. Rather, they're going to pick and choose who they think will turn into stars one day when and if they decide to sign young athletes. It's why they inked NBA rookie James Young to a deal this summer and why they're currently working with 27-year-old Cuban defector Rusney Castillo.
The Post actually shadowed Perez as he held a workout with Castillo in front of a bunch of scouts—and Perez believes Castillo could sign a sizable contract with an MLB team sometime in the near future, possibly even within the next week.
"It's probably going to be better than any other defector ever got, hopefully," Perez said.
4. Roc Nation Sports currently employs 45 people to work with the nine athletes that they have on their roster.
Several of those employees also work with some of the artists, producers, and writers that are on the main Roc Nation roster. But the majority of them are squarely focused on catering to the athletes that are on Roc Nation Sports. They work in a building that's located in Times Square.
5. Despite the emphasis they're placing on trying to build stars, Roc Nation Sports doesn't want to interfere with their clients' training.
Roc Nation Sports does want to max out players' earning potentials. But they don't want to do it at the expense of their on-the-field productivity. So while it would have been beneficial for Cano to attend the 2014 ESPY Awards last month, Roc Nation Sports didn't pressure him to do it after he asked for some time off.
"During the season, we limit what we're doing with them," Perez said. "In the offseason, when they're training, I make sure that the athletes are always focused on their craft first and marketing second."
6. Roc Nation Sports gains an advantage over other sports representation agencies by forming personal relationships with athletes.
Even though he's only been the President of Roc Nation Sports for a little more than a year now, Perez has known several of the athletes on the Roc Nation Sports roster for years. For instance, he first met Sabathia at Jay Z's 40/40 Club in New York City a short time after he signed with the Yankees and struck up a friendship with him. But he also credits his upbringing—he was born and raised in Harlem—with allowing him to connect with certain athletes on a deeper level.
"People have got to understand where we come from," Perez said, talking about both himself and Jay Z. "You've got certain things, you come out of your building, somebody might say something to you and you end up fighting and you go to jail for a fight. Or anything. It's just where you come from."
7. The Roc Nation Sports roster is going to continue to grow. Soon.
As we mentioned earlier, Roc Nation Sports isn't going to sign everyone. But they are interested in growing and are taking steps to land new athletes as we speak. Before the summer is over, there will likely be one or two more splashy signings by Jay Z & Co.
"Within the next 90 days, [the total number of clients] will be over 10," Yormark said.
So clearly, Jay Z and Roc Nation Sports aren't done proving that their business model will work. Just stay tuned.