Jay-Z and Roc Nation Partner With NFL, Will Be Co-Producers for Superbowl

Jay-Z and his Roc Nation company along with the National Football League have partnered up in a move the only heightens the mogul from Marcy Project’s cache.

Jay-Z and Roc Nation will be announced officially as partners with the National Football League Wednesday in a move that surprises anyone who recognizes Shawn Carter as a staunch Colin Kaepernick supporter. In the same breath, the NFL has shown their willingness to accept the movement awakened by Colin Kaepernick’s protest will not silently dissipate. There sits a widespread understanding that Commissioner Roger Goodell needed the NFL to endorse a solution AND be an active participant in quieting the storm of racial tension surrounding America’s most popular reality show.

To be clear, Jay-Z and Roc Nation will primarily act as influencers for the NFL’s entertainment and their social justice program, the Inspire Change Initiative. This includes making Shawn Carter and his agency co-producers of the NFL’s Super Bowl Halftime Show says Entertainment Tonight.

The partnership could not be developed with some subpar celebrity who only rings bells in some areas of the world. Jay-Z has earned clout in trap houses and boardrooms, which makes him the most effective option the culture has to offer.

In the grand scheme, this does not solve everything that is wrong with the NFL. A professional football player’s contract is not fully guaranteed, unlike in the NBA and Major League Baseball. Even with the amount of information set forth related to the risk the players take every game, the money these men earn are does not sync with the profitability of the NFL.

An acceptance of domestic violence in NFL culture is another annoying reminder of the problems that have an air of consistency in the league. But, instead of ignoring the change and action the National Football League is setting forth, the hip-hop community should embrace the opened door. That’s what Jay-Z has taken full advantage of.

The Inspire Change Initiative was announced by the NFL back in January of this year as an avenue for the NFL teams and the Players Coalition – structured in the wake of the Colin Kaepernick protest gone viral – to work together to help knock down some economical, educational and social justice barriers in their respective communities.

This includes two social justice grants issued to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and Operation HOPE, according to NFL.com. Being as optimistic as one can be about the intentions of the NFL to influence change outside of their bottom dollar, there is true action taking place and Roc Nation’s name only increases the likelihood of the program’s effectiveness.

Jay-Z is a name that rings bell, but his ideals and refusal to back down from a powerhouse like the NFL has allowed him behind the curtain with the same men who blackballed Colin Kaepernick for causing a flutter in the football community. The system is not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. But, Jay-Z and Roc Nation add a dimension of purpose to the National Football League which may be the key to winning some of its lost followers back.