饶舌巨星Jay Z能否变身超级体育经纪人？

    所有这些举动也许很难让球队的管理者们认真看待卡特。但结果可能正相反。赞助商显然尊敬Jay Z这位商人，他本人就是品牌的象征。卡特是那种每个行动都会引起人们议论的人，事实上，一些老资格的经纪人说，他们尝到了卡特的厉害。一位长期浸淫棒球领域的经纪人接受采访时拒绝公开姓名。这位资深经纪人说：“有人问我：‘你不怕他（卡特）吗？’我倒是不怕。但有可能一个想请Jay Z做经纪人的球员就不再想用我了。他太有名了，那种明星的影响力可以引起年轻球员的共鸣，这是显而易见的。他也在利用这一点。”

    年轻一代的运动员们在商量着要加入Roc Nation Sports的时候或许面临这样一个关键问题：Jay Z是否仅仅是一位利用自己名人光环的体育爱好者？卡特也许能吸引一些迎来个人职业生涯高峰期的明星，那些人已经功成名就。可卡特那招对尚需雕琢的新人会管用吗？毕竟，依照传统观念，初出茅庐的职业运动员要靠经纪人树立名望。而且，卡特本人是否希望接纳那样的新手？以冰球为例，不管是从合约价值的角度，还是赞助商的角度，无论怎么看，这都不是一种上了规模的职业体育运动。但卡特表现出了经营的兴趣。比如CAA代理的瑟兹•琼斯。这名后卫球员今年6月才在美国职业冰球联赛国家冰球联盟（NHL）的选秀上首次亮相，是选秀赛期间的佼佼者。当时报道称，卡特希望与CAA合作琼斯的市场推广。琼斯最终以第四顺位被选中，一些体育界的博客立即口诛笔伐，指责卡特插足琼斯经纪代理的传闻使NHL联赛球队对这位冰球新星的兴趣降低。

    “我确信，如果一名球员给多伦多某家球队的经理人打电话，自我介绍说Jay Z是自己的经纪人，对方就不会看重这名球员了，”冰球界经纪人亚历克斯•林斯基这样认为。林斯基是冰球经纪领域冉冉升起的明星。他的客户是加拿大安大略省和魁北克省青年冰球职业联赛的球员，都在16岁至20岁之间，是一批最有前途加入NHL的队员。林斯基说：“我手下有名球员，每场比赛结束后都会给我发信息，告诉我他比赛时的表现。你要说Jay Z会交流那些内容，我可不信。冰球与众不同，它有自身独特的文化。安大略是这种运动的温床，每天晚上都有经纪人会到这儿来。你会发现，大部分经纪人看上去几乎就是侦察兵。没人相信那些看起来徒有其表的人。”

    没错，卡特不会在美国棒球明星的摇篮——科德棒球联盟（Cape Cod Baseball League）的比赛观众席上现身，不会去那里搜寻有潜力的新人。实际上，他可能继续追求与成名的球星签约，用那样的方式打造一家受人尊敬的经纪公司。到目前为止，不论是他表露了合作兴趣的明星，还是已经签订经纪约的大牌，都没有什么惊喜。因为坎诺和杜兰特跟卡特本来就是朋友，瑟兹•琼斯的父亲普奥珀耶•琼斯是上世纪90年代的NBA知名球员，如今在布鲁克林篮网队担任助教。而经由卡特牵线决定选择坎诺任代言人的百事可乐公司和碧昂丝也有商业合作。

    可如果卡特希望Roc Nation Sports发展为一家深入开拓业务的多领域体育界经纪公司，就需要证明自己是更有功底的体育行业经纪人。那可能是个挑战，但不要低估Jay Z吸引新老球员加盟这家新公司的能力。如果球员与品牌商家都买账，那么职业球队的经营者们也会欣然接受卡特。那将意味着Roc Nation Sports的合约会滚滚而来，而卡特或许也能就此最终缔造一个新一代的经纪帝国。（财富中文网）

    译者：若离

    All of this might make it hard for team executives to take him seriously, but it might do just the opposite. And sponsors clearly respect Jay Z as a businessperson and brand name. He is a man whose every move gets discussed, and indeed, veteran agents say they are getting a mouthful. "People have asked me, 'Are you afraid of him?' I'm not afraid, no," says a longtime baseball agent who declined to be named. "Odds are a guy who wants to hire Jay Z is not going to want to hire me anyway. Obviously he's a huge name and his star power resonates with young athletes, and he's taking advantage of that."

    That may be a key question for young athletes debating joining Roc Nation Sports: Is Jay Z just a sports enthusiast taking advantage of his celebrity? He may be able to lure established stars in the prime of their careers, but will it work with recruiting young prospects -- the traditional way that an agent makes his name? Does he even want to go for those kids? Take hockey as an example -- not by any means one of the major sports in terms of contract values or sponsorships, but one Carter has shown interest in. (Seth Jones, repped by CAA, was expected to go first in the NHL draft in June. Leading up to the draft there were reports that Carter wanted to work with CAA on Jones' marketing. When Jones was ultimately selected fourth, some sports blogs railed that Carter's rumored involvement weakened teams' interest in the young star.)

    "I'm convinced that a general manager in Toronto is not going to care if a player calls him and says Jay Z is my agent," suggests hockey agent Alex Linsky, suggests Alex Linsky, a rising hockey agent who works with "major junior" players—16 to 20-year-old top prospects to enter the NHL—in Ontario and Quebec. "I have one player that texted me after every single game to talk about how he did. You can't convince me Jay-Z will field those texts. Hockey is unique, its culture is different. In the hotbed of Ontario, the agents are there every night. Most of the agents you see almost look like scouts. The ones that look flashy aren't trusted."

    Well, of course Carter isn't going to be at Cape Cod Baseball League games looking for new prospects. He could in fact continue to poach only established stars and build a very nice, respected agency that way. The names he's shown interest in so far, and the deals he's landed, haven't been surprising: he already had friendships with Cano and Durant; hockey prospect Jones is the son of Popeye Jones, an assistant coach for the Nets; Pepsi, which Carter connected with Cano, has a deal with his wife, Beyoncé.

    But if Carter wants Roc Nation Sports to grow into a deep and multifaceted agency, he'll need to prove himself more thoroughly as a sports agent. While that could be a challenge, don't underestimate the ability of the Jay Z empire to woo both veteran and rookie players to the up-and-coming agency. If players and brands buy into it, then in turn, team executives will, too. That means stuffed contracts and, eventually, maybe the next agency empire.