What Victor Cruz hinted at so many times last season was made clear Wednesday when the Giants receiver signed on with rap star Jay-Z’s budding sports agency.
Cruz, who had cryptically added Jay-Z’s diamond-shaped “Roc” hand signal to his famous end-zone salsa dances last year, is the second local sports star to hook up with Roc Nation Sports after Robinson Cano signed this week.
Jay-Z’s new sports agency is affiliated with the powerful and much more established Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which already represents Cruz in football matters through super agent Tom Condon.
That is expected to continue, in part because Jay-Z is not yet a licensed agent with the NFL Players Association while Condon is one of the most powerful — and feared — representatives in the sport.
Cruz’s deal with Jay-Z is more likely to be a way to boost his endorsements (he already has agreements with Nike, Campbell’s Chunky Soup and Time Warner Cable) and help grow Cruz’s nascent Young Whales clothing line.
Cruz’s decision to sign with Jay-Z has to be considered good news for the Giants, because it makes it much less likely he will want to leave this market next year as an unrestricted free agent if, as expected, he doesn’t receive any outside offers as a restricted free agent this spring.
Cruz and the Giants have been unable to work out a long-term deal so far, despite Big Blue offering him what a source said is roughly $7 million per season with at least $20 million guaranteed.
The Giants put a first-round tender on Cruz, meaning they would get a first-round pick as compensation if another team makes an offer the Giants consider too pricey by the NFL’s April 19 deadline.
The market for Cruz so far has been non-existent, though 11 teams had more than $10 million in room under the salary cap as of yesterday.
The Rams have an extra first-round pick and a glaring need for a playmaking slot receiver after losing Danny Amendola to the Patriots, but a team source told The Post last week that St. Louis doesn’t have the cap space or a pressing desire to pursue Cruz.
The Giants also have to feel good about keeping their two-time Pro Bowl receiver because Condon, who represents Eli Manning, Mathias Kiwanuka and Mark Herzlich, has long had a good working relationship with the team.