Saquon Barkley, Penn State's star running back and a projected top pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, has reportedly signed with Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell. Barkley declared for the NFL Draft just one day after Penn State's 35-28 win against Washington in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday.
The 20-year old running back rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons with the Nittany Lions, and had 18 rushing touchdowns in each of his last two seasons. He is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2018 NFL Draft.
According to Darren Rovell, Barkley and his family were invited to Jay Z's home in Los Angeles this week, where the two talked about his business future.
"I'm obviously a big fan of his," Barkley said, per ESPN's Darren Rovell. "He is a wise man, has a lot of knowledge and gives good advice."
"It was a really easy decision," Barkley said, per Rovell. "A lot of people came around my way, but they were focused on me and they did a great job at selling my family on setting me up for life, bringing value outside of football. I felt like it was harder for other agencies to pitch that family feel when they were working with 30 or 40 guys."
Other Roc Nation Sports athletes in the NFL today include a pair of the league's elite young running backs, Todd Gurley and Leonard Fournette, as well as Dez Bryant, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Melvin Ingram and Ndamukong Suh.