Jay Z has NFL agents running scared. His Roc Nation Sports has partnered with CAA and they are now making big time moves.
Roc Nation Sports has just been hired by Geno Smith, and more players are set to join the Roc. Yesterday we reported that the NFLPA was looking into Jay Z, his Roc Nations Sports, and allegations that Shawn Carter is acting as runner, in recruiting athletes since he is not a certified agent.
The NFLPA has now spoken, and according to USA Today Sports via George Atallah, a spokesman for the union, said the organization has found no issues with CAA’s partnership with Roc Nation as it pertains to the “runner rule,” which allows only certified agents to recruit players.
Atallah stated that CAA checked with the union before signing New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz to see if the NFLPA would have any issues with their signing him.
The NFLPA said there was no problem with adding Cruz to their list of clients because there was already a longstanding friendship between Cruz and Jay-Z.
Roc Nation was only supposed to handle Cruz’s marketing, not his contract negotiations. CAA’s Tom Condon is Cruz’s new contract agent and will continue to work with the Giants on a long-term contract.
“We are aware of the relationship between CAA and Roc Nation,” Atallah wrote. “We sent a formal inquiry to CAA asking them about their recruitment of players, in particular Victor Cruz. Both CAA and Victor responded. No violations in recruitment were found.”
Atallah indicated they will do their due dillengence on Roc Nation’s signing of New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith as its first client.
Smith didn’t hire CAA, he hired Kimberly Miale, a certified agent who was hired by Roc Nation Sports, but has only two clients, neither of whom has played in an NFL regular-season game.
“We will be reaching out to all of the parties involved to get a better understanding of the nature of those relationships,” Atallah wrote.