Roc Nation Sports and CAA Sports have signed Thunder F Kevin Durant for representation in all areas. Roc Nation Sports President Juan Perez and CAA Sports NBA player agent Leon Rose will lead a team of agents who will represent Durant. He was previously represented by Landmark Sports Group. Durant announced the signing on his Twitter feed by tweeting a photo of himself with rap mogul and Roc Nation Sports Owner Jay-Z (Liz Mullen, Staff Writer). ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell wrote the move “was expected for two weeks, since Durant told his former agent Rob Pelinka that he was jumping ship and wanted to try partnering with the power of Jay-Z.” The partnership will “immediately test Jay-Z's ability to score out-of-the-box marketing deals.” Durant is “one of the most bankable athletes in all of sports, having endorsement deals with Nike, Sprint, Gatorade, Skullcandy headphones, BBVA Compass, 2K Sports and Panini America.” Although Durant will be a “full client of the firm, he doesn't need a contract agent because he signed" an $85M extension with the Thunder in '10 that will take him through the '15-16 season (ESPN.com, 6/24).
HOW DOES THIS PARTNERSHIP IMPACT DURANT? ESPN's Mike Greenberg speculated that Durant signing with Jay-Z is about “flash and dash and opportunity,” and that it is the first step towards him "ultimately leaving Oklahoma City.” ESPN’s Mike Golic: “I got to believe that Jay-Z is looking to grab more than a few clients. Is he going to want them all to end up in New York?” Greenberg: “Talk to Stephen A. Smith about how CAA tries to control where these guys go all the time." Greenberg called Durant Roc Nation's "highest-profile client" and CAA has been "known to want to move their guys to places where they can be together and they can be highly visible and marketable." Greenberg: "We know what that means. That means New York, Chicago, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles and places like that. Less so a place like Oklahoma City." Golic: “Kevin Durant, guys like that -- and we’ve seen it in football as well -- you can be in small markets and still be a major star. You just said it, Kevin Durant’s in every commercial out there. He’s a monster star.” Greenberg agreed that Durant is “in every commercial" and asked, "What more could you want?” Golic: “Maybe he’s looking for global. Maybe more global, because certainly Jay-Z is global” ("Mike & Mike in the Morning," ESPN Radio, 6/25).
