Jay-Z Selling Minority Share of Nets to Head Coach Jason Kidd, Reports Say
Jay-Z is reportedly selling at least some of his stake in the Brooklyn Nets to the team's current head coach, Jason Kidd.
There is no ban on head coaches owning a team, but it is against the rules for agents to own a team and Jay-Z formed the agency called "Roc Nation". He represents professional athletes such as Robinson Cano, Geno Smith, and Kevin Durant.
Jay-Z owned around one sixth of one percent of the team, which is worth around $500,000. It is still unclear how much of Jay-Z's ownership is being sold to Kidd. NBC Sports says Kidd will be buying half of Jay-Z's stake in the team.
The 40-year-old Kidd became the Nets head coach this offseason after retiring from the NBA. A 1994 first round pick, Kidd became the co-rookie of the year in 1994 before going on to be a ten-time all star in his career with the Mavericks, Suns, Nets, and Knicks.
Although it is rare to see a head coach with ownership in a team -- and potentially controversial considering the overturn rate of head coaches -- it has happened before. Magic Johnson owned part of the Los Angeles Lakers while he was coaching them in the mid-1990s.
Kidd helped persuade Jay-Z to pursue ownership in the team back in 2003 when Kidd was a member of the Nets. The team's primary owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, owns 80 percent of the team.
Kidd has found himself embroiled in a number of legal controversies over the years. He was arrested in 2001 and pleaded guilty to domestic abuse charges and he was arrested again in 2012 and charged with a misdemeanor for driving while intoxicated after crashing his car into a tree.