Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady are getting into the football business.
The basketball Hall of Famers are among a group of 10 minority shareholders who will join the ownership group of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Former US men’s national team forward Jozy Altidore is also among the new shareholders.
McGrady and Carter are cousins who played early in their NBA careers as teammates on the Toronto Raptors. McGrady was one of Carter’s presenters at Carter’s Hall of Fame induction in October.
He Bills announced its new partners on Wednesday. Terry and Kim Pegula are the team’s principal owners. The news marks the first time in the franchise’s history that it has attracted secondary shareholders.
The new property The group also includes private equity firm Arctos. as well as several corporate executives and venture capitalists. According to the Bills, Arctos also owns shares in the NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, NASCAR, the Premier League and Formula One.
It is unclear how much stake each new shareholder owns. Forbes Estimates that the bills are valued at $4.2 billion.
The Bills announced the new ownership stakes amid a new NFL landscape that allows private equity investment in team ownership for the first time. The league has long refrained from making private equity investments, but owners voted in August to allow up to 10% private equity participation in each team.
The Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles also sold stakes to private equity investors. Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports reported earlier Wednesday that Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie 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.