It appears that entertainment mogul Jay-Z's budding influence on the sports world is about to help wide receiver Victor Cruz stay with the New York Giants.
Cruz, who has spent more than a year haggling with the franchise over a long-term deal, not only was moved to Creative Artists Agency through his relationship with Jay-Z, but has told at least two people that he plans to stay with the Giants long-term. Cruz, according to two sources, wants to take advantage of the business and marketing opportunities he envisions with Roc Nation, the marketing company Jay-Z (whose real name is Shawn Carter) founded.
"[Cruz] told his agents not to sign him with another team because he wants to work with Jay-Z," a source said. "There might have been a couple of teams interested, but he didn't want to go anywhere."
It's an interesting bit of news that may decrease Cruz's leverage in negotiations, since the Giants now know he doesn't really want to sign elsewhere. Cruz knows he has a good situation in New York and now everyone else knows he knows it too.