7 Things We Learned From the New York Post's Profile on Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports

Image via Complex Original

When Jay Z first announced that he was starting Roc Nation Sports last year, it kind of came out of left field—almost like he had just decided to do it out of the blue. But the truth is that Jay Z and Perez had been sitting on the idea to start a company like Roc Nation Sports for years.

"We talked about doing this maybe five, six years ago," Perez said. "It's just the time wasn't right. Jay just brought it up to me again. 'Why not just add the sports to it?' We always talk about how entertainment and sports go together, but nobody has put it together. So let's do it."

The Roc Nation Sports roster is small, but that's by design. They don't want to simply sign everyone who wants Roc Nation Sports to represent them. Rather, they want to sign star athletes and then help them turn into even bigger stars than they already are, which will in turn allow them to sign bigger endorsement deals.

"Our job is to take our athletes and create star power around them," Roc Nation Sports president and chief of branding and strategy Michael Yormark said. "That's the job we do off the field."

And it's a job that they already seem to be doing well. According to the Post, C.C. Sabathia signed a better deal with Jordan Brand than the one he already had in place thanks to Roc Nation Sports.

Roc Nation Sports isn't going to simply go around and sign all marquee names to their roster. Rather, they're going to pick and choose who they think will turn into stars one day when and if they decide to sign young athletes. It's why they inked NBA rookie James Young to a deal this summer and why they're currently working with 27-year-old Cuban defector Rusney Castillo.

The Post actually shadowed Perez as he held a workout with Castillo in front of a bunch of scouts—and Perez believes Castillo could sign a sizable contract with an MLB team sometime in the near future, possibly even within the next week.

"It's probably going to be better than any other defector ever got, hopefully," Perez said.

Several of those employees also work with some of the artists, producers, and writers that are on the main Roc Nation roster. But the majority of them are squarely focused on catering to the athletes that are on Roc Nation Sports. They work in a building that's located in Times Square.

Roc Nation Sports does want to max out players' earning potentials. But they don't want to do it at the expense of their on-the-field productivity. So while it would have been beneficial for Cano to attend the 2014 ESPY Awards last month, Roc Nation Sports didn't pressure him to do it after he asked for some time off.

"During the season, we limit what we're doing with them," Perez said. "In the offseason, when they're training, I make sure that the athletes are always focused on their craft first and marketing second."

Even though he's only been the President of Roc Nation Sports for a little more than a year now, Perez has known several of the athletes on the Roc Nation Sports roster for years. For instance, he first met Sabathia at Jay Z's 40/40 Club in New York City a short time after he signed with the Yankees and struck up a friendship with him. But he also credits his upbringing—he was born and raised in Harlem—with allowing him to connect with certain athletes on a deeper level.

"People have got to understand where we come from," Perez said, talking about both himself and Jay Z. "You've got certain things, you come out of your building, somebody might say something to you and you end up fighting and you go to jail for a fight. Or anything. It's just where you come from."

As we mentioned earlier, Roc Nation Sports isn't going to sign everyone. But they are interested in growing and are taking steps to land new athletes as we speak. Before the summer is over, there will likely be one or two more splashy signings by Jay Z & Co.

"Within the next 90 days, [the total number of clients] will be over 10," Yormark said.

So clearly, Jay Z and Roc Nation Sports aren't done proving that their business model will work. Just stay tuned.