NFL forms social justice partnership with Jay-Z, Roc Nation

The NFL is establishing a social justice and entertainment partnership with rapper Jay-Z and his agency, Roc Nation, according to The Washington Post's Mark Maske.

Jay-Z and Roc Nation will contribute to the NFL's Inspire Change program, a social activism campaign that involves players around the league. Roc Nation will also co-produce the Super Bowl halftime show and select entertainers to perform on NFL stages throughout the season.

"I think we have autonomy," said Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter. "I anticipate that there will be a lot of - with any big organization, in this building right here we have internal problems. Anything that's new is going to go through its growing pains. We put what we want to do on the table. The NFL agreed to it. So we're gonna proceed with that as if we have a partnership."

The newly created bond does not mean Jay-Z will be on the stage at Super Bowl LIV in February.

"He was very quick to say that he does not want this to be about him performing, that it was broader than that," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "It quickly went beyond that. Do I hope he'll perform in the Super Bowl sometime in the next several years? Yes. But I think we'll all know if that time comes. He'll know in particular."

Jay-Z reportedly turned down an offer to headline the Super Bowl LIII halftime show out of support for Colin Kaepernick.

Roc Nation represents a number of high-profile NFLers, including Todd Gurley, Saquon Barkley, Ndamukong Suh, and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

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