Dez Bryant and Jay-Z are now on the same team and repping for the same label. How is that for an empire state of being?
Bryant thus becomes the latest in a growing list of superstar athletes now joined at the hip with the Roc Nation Sports agency founder and hip-hop mogul, aligning himself with a rostrum that also includes Kevin Durant, CC Sabathia, Victor Cruz, Robinson Cano, and Skylar Diggins.
Bryant’s five-year Dallas Cowboys rookie deal expires next summer and he’s already on record in boasting he plans to cash in as the top-flight wideout he believes himself to be. And now he has Jay-Z, the man who once famously waxed “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business man,” by his side and watching his back in assuring that he gets all the coins they both are convinced he so richly deserves.
Since parting ways with veteran agent Eugene Parker, Bryant has talked of his drive to eclipse “icon” status. No doubt, when he looks at Jay, he almost certainly sees whatever it is he imagines and clearly seems just as intrigued by the promise of what the two ballers might be able to achieve now working in tandem.
In terms of dollars and cents, that could easily translate into as much as $13 million per a season from the Cowboys. While that would certainly register as a windfall to most, it could ultimately prove to be just a fraction of what Bryant’s endorsement earning potential could become with Jigga working the boardrooms of Madison Ave. on his behalf.
“I feel like it fits me,” Bryant said of the newfound alliance. “It fits what I’m trying to do, what I’m trying to accomplish in life. I want to be the best that I can possibly be. It ain’t about a contract. It’s about me branding myself and being an icon for these kids. I come from dirt— point blank, period— and every day I’m writing my story and it’s getting better. I feel like they were the best choice for me. They can help me get to where I want to be. That’s what it is.”
Indeed, if there’s anyone who’s ever shown an ability to fast talk his way into a future not many may have always envisioned for him, it’s Jay. Beyond his own housing projects to corporate offices rise, not many saw the $200 million deal he was able to net from the Seattle Mariners for Cano in free agency last summer.
The Cowboys may yet move to saddle Bryant with the franchise tag over not just one but the next two seasons, limiting some of the riches even the likes of the smooth-talking Jay will be able to talk his way into over the short term. But at least now Bryant seems emboldened by the knowledge he’s arguably got one of the world’s best hype men at his side.
“He was one of those guys who come from nothing, and look at him now,” said Bryant. “He’s a success, and all he wants to do is help.”
