Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z has been certified to represent NBA players in contract negotiations, NBPA director of agent administration Robert Gadson confirmed to Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (Twitter link). As such, NBA players can now officially be represented by Jay-Z and his Roc Nation Sports agency.
We heard back in April that the man also known as Shawn Carter had started his own sports agency and aimed to become certified as an agent in multiple professional sports. Roc Nation Sports launched via a partnership with Creative Artists Agency, though it is its own company as well. Kevin Durant became the first big-name NBA player to commit to Roc Nation earlier this month, leaving former agent Rob Pelinka at Landmark Sports to join Jay-Z's agency.
Durant is signed to a long-term contract, so he won't require any negotiations in free agency this offseason — we'll have to wait to see if Roc Nation Sports signs any free-agents-to-be in the coming weeks, as free agency nears. Potential first overall pick Nerlens Noel was rumored to be considering signing with Roc Nation, but ultimately chose Andy Miller and Frank Catapano as his reps.
It's also unclear whether Jay-Z has officially sold his small stake in the Brooklyn Nets. Although Jay-Z held just a fraction of 1% of the franchise, it would seem to represent a conflict of interest if he were both an NBA agent and a part-owner of one of the league's teams.