Jay Z As Washington Minority Owner Potential Impact

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June 2, 2021

by Dave Earl

High Profile Minority Owner?

As first reported by Burgundy Blog, Jay Z seems to be potentially aligning himself with Dan Snyder and Washington as a minority owner. As mentioned by Burgundy Blog, this is a lengthy process that very well could never come to fruition, but let’s focus on the “What if!” Before we talk about his potential impact on the organization, people need to realize the story of Shawn Carter (Jay Z) is much more complicated and improbable than the water cooler opinions. A great back story on Jay Z from How Jay Z Started His Entrepreneurial Projects shows a young teen in a broken family nearly trapped by the violence and drugs on the streets he called home. While his early years weren’t something one would aspire for their own children, it was his decision to have the strength to stand up and walk away which began a path of success in his entrepreneurship. Today we see a man who has created a successful company in Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear as well as who made smart profitable investments such as Aspiro and Barclays Center. Typically, whatever Jay Z touches turns much more profitable.

Would Jay Z Truly Be A Publicity Stunt?

In a recent fan poll by The Hog Sty the majority seems to lean to this being a publicity stunt, which is honestly a fair assessment. With the PR nightmare this organization has been through over the last year alone accompanied by Dan Snyder’s scandals, it’s fair to assume Dan would want to fix his image, and Jay Z is that perfect addition. It’s also fair to even view this scenario as Rodger Goodell and the NFL manipulating the situation, especially with the lack of actual minority owners, in order to dress up an image some see as unflattering when it comes to equality within the top executive ranks in the NFL. Regardless of where you stand on this view, there is motivation by Dan and the league to bring in such a high-profile minority like Jay Z for both image and business purposes.

To avoid sounding like Jay Z is just a trophy to have in your case, I want to be clear about what he adds to the image and business aspects. Jay Z did not escape the streets of Brooklyn and built a brand and image to just be a showcase for the NFL. He’s been an extremely smart businessman who does not make anything but sound investments, and for which he has an influence on the future of any endeavor to which he puts his name. Much like his venture with the Brooklyn Nets as a minority stakeholder, he sold his original $1 million investment for a 135% return of investment ($2.35 million). Jay Z is not “aligning” his assets, as mentioned by Burgundy Blog, just to be a placeholder in revitalizing an image of a team or league. Yes, Dan still holds total authority and we understand his history, but consider just how far this organization has already come from a cultural standpoint alone. Dan is smart enough to know the value-added in bringing in Jay Z, based on Jay-Z’s history alone, which makes it such a good potential business move, especially in the rebrand.

Rebranding And Cultural Advantage

As I opened discussions with fellow fans, one, Michael McKnight brought up a very interesting point in that Jay Z could aid in the organization’s rebranding. Honestly, as I looked at this scenario initially as a publicity stunt, it was a viewpoint I didn’t even consider. When looking back during his time with the Nets, Jay Z played an integral part in the team’s successful and profitable rebranding. He pushed a change in a new-age approach to in-stadium entertainment and influenced their popular uniform design, both of which set a new and fresh standard for the NBA. With Jason Wright leading this direction with input from the fans, what better influencer could you find than Jay Z? While most of the older fans may not exactly care too much for a new age direction, the team must find a way to bring back the younger generations while attracting future generations as well. As it will be hard enough alone to rebrand the team and honor the organization’s past appeasing the older generation of fans, Jay Z would certainly ease the stress load in finding a way in appealing to younger and future generations successfully.

When seeing how far this organization has come from the cultural standpoint, Jay Z (once again) fits the bill perfectly. As Paul Whitlow mentioned in our discussions, we are witnessing a new era for Washington with the current diversity added and overall attitude. Jay Z brings yet another influencer in Dan’s ear unlike years past, which I discussed in Morgan Moses Released. Rivera’s vision has quickly taken shape. His direction has been very clear and has resonated with the players and throughout the rest of the organization. Jay Z becoming a minority owner would allow Washington to move even further away from the dark times under Bruce Allen and his authoritarian rule while potentially beginning to cement Rivera’s vision in Washington going forward. Maybe I’m being a bit naive, but I am firm in my stance that the changes we’ve seen since January of 2020 are of the type that we have not witnessed since Dan bought this team. Even throughout all levels of both the business and football operations sides, there is not an apparent middle man to undermine Ron’s vision and steer Dan with bad information. So, if Jay Z plans to become a minority owner, he is not coming to undermine anyone but to make his initial investment more profitable which, in turn, benefits the team in the long run. So my initial stance of this being a publicity stunt has taken a shift somewhat as I potentially believe the addition of Jay Z can help bring more credibility to an organization which has been void of integrity while lacking in any strong moral philosophy.