Scott Boras took a shot at Jay-Z in the latest round of the feud between the two businessmen.
Jay-Z recently became a sports agent and has signed several notable athletes including Kevin Durant and Victor Cruz. His biggest move was signing Robinson Cano away from Boras right before the second baseman entered free agency. Jay-Z burned Boras with a diss on a song released over the summer, and now Boras is minimizing the role Jay-Z had in Cano receiving a 10-year, $240 million contract offer from the Mariners.
“When you’re bringing the prettiest girl to the prom, you don’t really pay attention to who he’s dancing with, unless it’s a very unusual step,” Boras said at the winter meetings Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.
The AP says that quote was part of Boras saying it was Cano’s talent, not his representation, that got him the deal.
Boras also said it’s easier for Jay-Z to get a big deal after all the groundwork agents like him have laid.
“It’s very different to be the creator of the umbrella versus those who stand under it,” Boras said.
I’m not sure if I agree with his comments.
Jay-Z and CAA Sports got the Mariners to agree to a 10-year, $240 million deal even when it looked like no other team was offering anything close to that amount. The Yankees were said to be offering around $160 million for seven years and unwilling to go over $200 million to retain him. Steve DelVecchio even explained this week that Jay-Z may have pulled a classic Boras move and gotten Seattle to bid against themselves, which likely added an extra year and $15 million to the contract.
If you can’t credit Jay-Z for a job well done on the Cano contract — which is the fourth-richest in MLB history — then I’m not sure how Boras expects to take credit for any of the big contracts he’s negotiated. Or, by his logic, then the most talented players in baseball don’t even need agents because they’re going to get huge contracts no matter what.
Nice try, Boras, but the comment just makes you look bad.
