Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady enter the world of football.
The Basketball Hall of Famers is among a group of 10 minority stakeholders joining the ownership group of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Jozy Altidore, former forward for the US men’s national team, is also among the new shareholders.
McGrady and Carter are cousins ​​who played as teammates for the Toronto Raptors early in their NBA careers. McGrady was one of Carter’s presenters at Carter’s Hall of Fame induction in October.
The Bills announced their new partners on Wednesday. Terry and Kim Pegula are the team’s primary owners. The news marks the first time in franchise history that it has attracted secondary shareholders.
The new ownership group also includes private equity firm Arctos, as well as a number of corporate executives and venture capitalists. According to the bills, Arctos also has shares in the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, the Premier League and Formula 1.
It is not clear how much of a stake each new shareholder will own. Forbes estimates the accounts are worth $4.2 billion.
The Bills announced the new ownership stakes in a new NFL landscape that allows private equity investments in team ownership for the first time. The league has long abstained from private equity investments, but its owners voted in August to allow a private equity stake of up to 10% in each team.
The Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles have also sold shares to private equity investors. Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports reported earlier Wednesday that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has sold an 8% stake in the team. The Dolphins announced Wednesday that owner Stephen Ross sold 10% of the team to Ares Management and a 3% stake to Brooklyn Nets owners Joe Tsai and Oliver Weisberg.
