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ESPN's Darren Rovell reports that Nets minority owner Jay-Z has, despite all the publicity, NOT yet sold his stake in the team.
Despite a report to the contrary, I have been told that Jay-Z has not yet sold his share in the Nets.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) May 24, 2013
Rovell did not report on reasons behind the holdup.
Jay-Z, whose shares have been placed at between 1/5th and 1/15th of one percent, has to sell out in order to represent NBA players ... and possibly players in other sports. The executive director of the MLB players union has expressed concern about an owner having a stake in any professional sports team.
Through his alliance with CAA, Jay-Z has deals with Robinson Cano of the Yankees and Geno Smith of the Jets. He's also reportedly near a deal with Victor Cruz of the Giants and is reportedly interested in repping Seth Jones, Popeye Jones son and the top prospect in this June's NHL draft. There are also reports that once he is cleared by the NBA players union, he will sign a top NBA player.
Jay-Z has said he would like to retain his interest in Barclays Center but insiders say that it might be difficult for him to do that, since the team and the arena are separate assets of a single partnership, not separate entities. He has also said that he intends to keep his courtside seats near the Nets bench.
Only two people --Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian and Taiwanese pop star Will Park-- have publicly expressed interest in buying the stake, but the list is reportedly quite long.