✅ Breaking News - Jay-Z the sports agent: How rap superstar has built $900m agency

✅ Breaking News - Jay-Z the sports agent: How rap superstar has built $900m agency

#Jay, #Z, #sports, #agent, #rap, #superstar, #built, #900m, #agency, #including, #Romelu, #Lukaku

Mino Raiola and Jorge Mendes, watch out. Jay-Z is now a football agent. Famous for hits such as '99 Problems' and 'Hard Knock Life', Jay-Z has won 21 Grammy awards and is the richest hip-hop artist in the world. He and his wife Beyonce are the music industry's ultimate power couple. The rapper, whose real name is Shawn Carter, won two of those Grammys with his 2009 hit 'Empire State of Mind' featuring Alicia Keys, and he has created an empire of his own containing a host of businesses in his hometown of New York, including a record label, a fashion label, music-streaming service Tidal, a champagne brand and much more. What isn't so well known is that five years ago Jay-Z branched out to create the sports agency Roc Nation Sports, where he is now making millions as an agent. He boasts a clientele from the NFL, baseball and basketball but has also teamed up with Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng and recently Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku. The agency has grown fast: it was ranked No 33 in Forbes' list of the most powerful sports agencies in September 2017 after generating $21.8million (£16.9m) from commissions, with $906m worth of contracts in its books. At that time Jay-Z's talent stable was made up of 33 clients but Roc Nation Sports has expanded to now represent 69 athletes, suggesting that value is considerably higher. Jay-Z's net worth was a whopping $900m (£700m) and as a couple Jay-Z's and Beyonce's value was estimated at $1.255bn (£971m) this year, according to Forbes. Roc Nation Sports has perhaps gone under the radar in the UK but the firm and Jay-Z mean business. Roc Nation Sports have doubled their number of clients in under a year with Jay-Z representing athletes from five sports – boxing, basketball, American football, baseball and football. He was the only agent to split his clients across more than one sport in 2016, according to Forbes' list, demonstrating that he is willing to try something different, and perhaps that he is looking to expand beyond even the current biggest agencies. The president of Roc Nation Sports, Juan Perez, revealed how players are selected, telling GQ: 'First, we look at performance. You just have to be at a certain level, cream of the crop. 'Then the same things: a story behind him, his character, the market value of the player, just different things.' Ten boxers, 20 basketball players, 18 American football stars, 19 baseball players as well as Boateng and Lukaku are all on Roc Nation Sports' books. Baseball star Robinson Cano was Jay-Z's first client back in April 2013 when the second baseman was playing for the New York Yankees. The 35-year-old, who now plies his trade at the Seattle Mariners, is therefore the agency's longest-serving customer. Golden State Warriors' star Kevin Durant, who won the NBA MVP award for a second consecutive year when they won their second successive championship this year, joined the agency in June 2013. Jay-Z showed his commitment to expanding

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