Source: Kevin Mazur / Getty
Eyebrows have been raised ever since Jay-Z’s Roc Nation announced a partnership with the NFL weeks ago— and now we’re finally seeing what it all really means.
In the first showing of what the deal entails, Hov announced Friday morning (Aug. 30) that Meek Mill, Meghan Trainor, and Rapsody will be the headliners at the Inspire Change advocates for the upcoming 2019 NFL season. The campaign will include a free concert in Chicago’s Grant Park on September 5. And after the concert wraps up, fans can stick around to catch the Green Bay Packers versus Chicago Bears game at the official NFL Kickoff Watch Party.
The Inspire Change initiative, according to the NFL’s site, is done in conjunction with the Players Coalition, and aims “to support programs and initiatives that reduce barriers to opportunity.”
The program has three main goals which are:
- Education and economic advancement
- Police and community relations
- Criminal justice reform
A portion of Meek Mill and Meghan Trainor’s performance will be featured in simulcast coverage of the 40-minute pregame show from Chicago from 7:30 – 8:10 PM ET on NBC and NFL Network.
Concert duties aside, there will be an apparel line with proceeds going to organizations “committed to the key priorities of Inspire Change: education and economic empowerment, police and community relations, and criminal justice reform.”
Much of the criticism from Jay-Z’s deal with the NFL was because of the unknown. Other than an awkward press conference that was available to the masses to watch– which includes Jay clearly being caught off guard when asked about Colin Kaepernick‘s involvement in the deal and the confusion that came when Jay said he spoke to Kap in the past few days… but it wasn’t about the deal.
Now that there are tangible benefits of Roc Nation working with the NFL, people may finally fall back on the Jay Z capitalism slander and hopefully, the change continues to come.
