Spencer Dinwiddie has become the latest athlete to join the sports management division of Jay Z’s Roc Nation. This move comes on the heels of Roc Nation hiring Raymond Brothers as its new Director of Basketball and Sports Technology/Specialty Projects.
Brothers brought his clients with him; one of them being Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. With the move, sports and entertainment mogul Jay Z deepens his extensive affiliation with the Brooklyn Nets.
He has previously held ownership stakes in both the Brooklyn Nets organization and the Barclays Center. He moved on from those investments after high returns and a shifted focus onto the rise of Roc Nation Sports. However, that didn’t end his connection with his hometown team. Roc Nation now represents enough Brooklyn Nets players to floor an entire lineup.
Spencer Dinwiddie joins teammates Caris LeVert, Henry Ellenson, Wilson Chandler and summer acquisition Kyrie Irving. Irving joined the agency this past June, instantly becoming one of the highest-profile athletes at Roc Nation, joining the likes of NFL clients Saquon Barkley and Todd Gurley.
Dinwiddie commented on his union with the agency, “Thrilled to officially join the Roc Nation Sports family! Can’t wait to see what’s next.”
The 6th year point guard will look to build on his successful campaigns with Brooklyn. His points per game have risen in each of his three seasons with the club, as has the Nets’ win total, making the playoffs last season.
The Nets are poised for more success amid the splash signings of Irving and Kevin Durant. Durant is unlikely to play this year, so Kenny Atkinson and his staff will need a lot from Dinwiddie.
The front office has shown a high level of trust and commitment to Dinwiddie, recently signing him to a 3-year, $34 million contract. He had first signed with Brooklyn in 2016 on a 3-year, $2.9 million contract. Dinwiddie earned the pay raise not only because of his on-court success, but also from the positive value he provides to teammates with his infectious personality and smarts. His intelligence has created a recent buzz around the NBA, as Dinwiddie tried to do something with his new contract that is completely unprecedented.
Dinwiddie had plans to turn his $34 million contract into a public, digital investment platform. Through DREAM Fan Shares, he would offer a “$SD8” token that would enable investors to buy into his contract, with the minimum buy-in coming at a cool $150,000. By selling shares in his contract, Dinwiddie would have allowed investors to bet on whether he would be able to play well enough to earn an even more lucrative contract after the second year of his deal. The third and final year of his deal features a player option. Dinwiddie is a Blockchain enthusiast who believes that this emerging technology offers the potential to help generate and preserve wealth for athletes, artists, and influencers.
However, Marc Stein, of The New York Times, reports that NBA league officials told Dinwiddie that he will not be allowed to turn his contract into a digital investment vehicle. The NBA issued the following statement to The New York Times on Friday: “According to recent reports, Spencer Dinwiddie intends to sell investors a ‘tokenized security’ that will be backed by his player contract. The described arrangement is prohibited by the C.B.A., which provides that ‘no player shall assign or otherwise transfer to any third party his right to receive compensation from the team under his uniform player contract.’”
While this financial project will have to be put on hold, Dinwiddie still has his own operational line of sneakers, named “K8IROS.” He sells the sleek basketball sneaker that features the LA skyline for $110 on his website. On the “about” page, you’ll find a description of Spencer that seems quite relevant and truthful: “Outside of basketball, Spencer continues to push himself just as hard as an entrepreneur. When he’s not owning the boardroom or the basketball court, he enjoys spending time with his family.”
Now with Roc Nation, we will see how agent Raymond Brothers and his staff assist Spencer in his off-court dealings. ESPN recently ranked Dinwiddie as the league’s 76th best player, but he might just be #1 in business.
