Jay-Z's Roc Nation agency will help organize Super Bowl halftime shows as part of the NFL dealGETTY IMAGES
Jay-Z's reasons behind his new partnership with the NFL "likely revolve around money, power and the movement," as well as the "potential to become the NFL's first black owner," according to Justin Tinsley of THE UNDEFEATED. Jay-Z is "attempting to fix the league's image might be the most uphill battle" of his career -- especially while he is "trying to use the platform to benefit his own business interests." But it is also a "business model that he's repeatedly used over the last quarter century." How Jay-Z "handles the NFL's inevitable next controversy" will be "interesting to watch" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 8/15).
MENDING FENCES: NBC NEWS' Dave Schilling wrote in order for the NFL to "retain its status as a cross-cultural entertainment behemoth, it has to live in both worlds," and Jay-Z is their "corporate olive branch." It is "unlikely the NFL will take any particularly controversial stands on the issues for which Jay-Z will serve as their public face" (NBCNEWS.com, 8/15). THE UNDEFEATED's Bomani Jones wrote the NFL uses Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross and Jay-Z for "credibility the league doesn't have." Ross' RISE organization "allows the league to show that one of its owners ... really cares about this stuff, and Ross can serve the NFL's interests while seeming like a voice of reason because of his good works." People "listen when billionaires talk, and these guys can send the same message to different rooms" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 8/15). FS1’s Jason Whitlock said Jay-Z has a “chance -- and this is where I give the NFL credit -- to really help these young guys understand, ‘Handle your business, make as much money as you can, and then take that money and impact your communities’” ("Speak for Yourself," FS1, 8/15).
PUTTING ON AN ACT? The AP's Paul Newberry wrote Jay-Z's partnership with the NFL is "clearly nothing more than a money grab for one side and a public-relations coup for the other" (AP, 8/15). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes the "embrace of Jay-Z" by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has the "stench of a shakedown." It is a "way for the NFL to pay for protection against legitimate but selectively outraged protesters" by "purchasing the allegiance of a Jay-Z, in the name ... of social justice" (N.Y. POST, 8/16).
