In a span of just a few months, Jason Kidd went from NBA player to coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Now, according to reports, he will be a minority owner of the team, having purchased rapper Jay Z’s small share of the franchise.
Jay Z had to unload his percentage of the Nets when he developed Roc Nation Sports management, which represents NBA players like the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant.
Kidd will take over Jay’s .067 percent, 1/15th of a percent, stake in the team for about $500,000. A source told Yahoo! Sports: “Other owners want to give Jason a part ownership of the team, and urged Jay to sell his shares to him.”
According to the source, Jay Z controlled 0.1608 percent of the Nets, or roughly 1/6 of 1 percent through Nets Sports and Entertainment—not 1/15th of one percent, as reported by The New York Times last year and the New York Post Wednesday. Jay Z has never revealed the exact amount of his shares of the franchise.
The source said that Jay Z had originally planned to sell half his shares to another suitor, but that Kidd asked that Jay sell the stake to him. The transaction would close the circle for Jay Z and J-Kidd. It was Kidd who reportedly was the first to suggest that Jay Z buy into the Nets 10 years ago. That conversation took place at Kidd’s 30th birthday party, held at Jay Z’s 40/40 Club in Manhattan, according to reports.
Not long afterwards, Jay Z met with Bruce Ratner, real estate developer and minority owner of the Nets. There are conflicting accounts as to how much Jay Z paid initially, with one report suggesting $100,000, and another hinting at $400,000.
As for a potential conflict, the source said there is none: coaches can own part of a team, players cannot. Pat Riley owned a small share of the Miami Heat when he took over as coach in 1995.
