The Bills and owner Terry Pegula announced the addition of 10 limited partners to the ownership group on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
NBA Hall of Famer and eight-time All-Star Vince Carter, NBA Hall of Famer and seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady and former USA soccer striker Jozy Altidore are part of the group.
The trio spoke with local media on Friday morning to discuss how the partnership came together and why they are ecstatic to be part of the Bills family.
Here are three things to know from the press conference.
1. "This was a dream" | Carter, McGrady & Altidore reflect on the sheer excitement of being in NFL ownership
While the NBA is what Tracy McGrady knows best and loves most, the two-time NBA scoring champion always thought becoming a partial franchise owner was something he wanted to be involved in, regardless of the sport.
When the opportunity presented itself, McGrady couldn't look away. Now with the deal done, the NBA legend who logged 15 years in the league says this was always a part of the dream.
"This was a dream," McGrady said. "The dream was to play professional basketball and when that dream became a reality, I told my agent that at some point in my career I wanted to own a sports franchise, whether that was Major League Baseball because I'm involved in that, whether it's an NBA franchise or NFL. Whichever one really came to idea and really what made sense for me and my brand."
McGrady also thought the opportunity made sense for his cousin, Vince Carter.
"I never imagined," Carter said of being a minority owner of an NFL team. "Obviously, I played football growing up and everything, and yes, I wanted to be a part of an ownership group. I sat and talked with the commissioner of the NBA and had a conversation about my interests in a potential ownership group. And just being patient in the opportunity. And I got the phone call from Mac (McGrady), and he read it to me, and I was like, 'Interesting.'"
"Having a conversation with Vince (Carter) before this happened, this is something that we wanted to do," McGrady said. "And the Bills came to a head, and it was just the perfect match with our ties being in Toronto for all three of us, just made sense for us to be a part of the Bills organization."
Bills owner Terry Pegula didn't just select McGrady, Carter and Altidore to be part of the ownership group because of their incredible careers and star status'. Pegula carefully selected the three partially due to their strong ties to Toronto, an area packed with Bills fans.
McGrady was drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft and played for them until 2000. Carter was drafted by the Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 1998 draft and played for them until 2004. Altidore played for Toronto FC from 2015-2021.
"I moved to Toronto in late 2014-2015 and immediately, as I was introduced to the Toronto sports scene," Altidore said. "I was immediately introduced to the Buffalo Bills because of just the closeness and the amount of fans."
The striker scored 79 total goals in his 173 appearances with Toronto FC and calls becoming a part of the ownership group a dream come true.
"It's a dream come true because I generally got to watch that team grow through good and bad, and watch their popularity grow in the Northeast," Altidore shared. "And then, now with the second success I've had in Toronto to now marry the two, I couldn't be happier. I couldn't be more blessed to have this opportunity, and I'm so grateful for it."
While the conversations were ongoing, Carter had a chance to attend the NFL League Meetings in March to learn more about the league and meet the Pegulas.
"Actually met Mr. Terry Pegula there, and had a very cool conversation with him, as well as his daughter Laura," Carter said. "It kind of went from that to a couple of phone conversations, to that phone call to where we were asked to come up to Buffalo and just to just see where it goes from there, and just great things happen. It's been an unbelievable ride since then."
The three were in attendance for Buffalo's Week 3 Monday night matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The group got to witness Bills quarterback Josh Allen put up four passing touchdowns en route to a huge 47-10 victory.
"That was just a formal introduction to meet Terry Pegula and the family, the staff and everybody," McGrady said of his trip to Buffalo. "We were far away from closing anything."
Months later with Carter, McGrady and Altidore now officially a part of the ownership group, the three reflected on the world finding out the exciting news.
"I was in China doing an announcement, so I'm so jealous," McGrady said of not being in the states when everything was announced on December 11. "I was getting a lot of calls, a lot of emails and everything, and everybody was ecstatic about the announcement. But I wanted to be on U.S. soil to really feel that energy, and I had to get it from my cousin (Vince Carter) and Jozy (Altidore)."
Carter said he was working The 2024 NBA Cup but hadn't told anyone yet because he wanted it to be a surprise.
"Everybody looked at me like, 'Bills? (You) didn't mention anything.' I was like, it's one of those things I was so excited about it, but it's nothing like hearing it for real when it's official," Carter shared. "And I remember texting the group, everybody's texting the group like, 'Man, you know who you are now? You are a Bills owner.' And it was pretty cool to finally say that and be a part of it."
Altidore said the response was so overwhelming that he had to set his phone to 'Do Not Disturb' mode.
"The phone just went off," Altidore shared. "It's still, to be honest, going off. But all in good ways, all congratulatory, and everybody extremely happy. So, it was cool to feel that love, for sure."
Helping the Next Generation
All three of the men reflected and agreed that this is a great opportunity for not just black kids, but for all kids to see a set of individuals step into a new role and be part of an ownership group.
"It's possible if you do it the right way," Carter said. "You have to go about it the right way and get young kids to understand to look in the future. You set your goals and how do you go about it? And asking questions and doing things the right way."
Altidore echoed Carter's sentiments adding that for him it shows the younger generation that they are capable.
"That's what I've definitely learned," Altidore said. "The representation of what it means and that's the biggest thing because I think when you don't see it a lot, you don't know if you can do it. And I think seeing Tracy, seeing Vince now, seeing myself, I hope that inspires other people watching and young kids to say, 'man, I can do it too.' I think that's a huge takeaway from all this."
Altidore continued saying that he hopes the visualization of seeing individuals like them in this position can serve as reassurance and serve as a message to show that they are capable to step into roles like this in the future.
McGrady also gave credit to the Buffalo Bills and the NFL for being dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in sports. He wants to serve as an example of how to do things the right way for others to follow in their footsteps.
"This is inspiring to so many people that look like us because of the past history and what's been said in media about diversity, inclusion in sports ownership," McGrady said. "For us, this is a barometer for us to do our jobs and be a stand-in for the next phase of ownership, whether it's minority, whether it's majority, whether it's individual owning right out a franchise, it's up to us to really carry this the right way and setting example for the next people that's coming along."
Carter also gave credit to Serena and Venus Williams who became minority owners of the Miami Dolphins in 2009 and breaking the barrier for athletes of other sports to become owners of NFL teams. Magic Johnson also became the first former NBA player to become a minority owner of an NFL team when he joined the Washington Commanders ownership group in 2023.
"They started this and it kind of was a thing and it kind of got pushed aside," Carter said. "But they kind of broke that barrier for tennis athletes. And I think now full circle, we're getting that opportunity as male black athletes that are from a different sport. So I just think it's just a cool opportunity. Diversity and inclusion is a thing and something that organizations and businesses are trying to accomplish. And we were kind of in the forefront of that on this side."
Expanding the Toronto market
One of the goals that the ownership group has is to continue to connect with fans in the Toronto area. Carter, McGrady and Altidore are all aligned about wanting to invest in helping grow the Bills brand internationally.
"If you look at the three guys here, we've accomplished a lot in that market. Our names are thrown around, it''s recognized. So I think the partnership between the Bills and what we've done in Toronto can now marry this group together," Carter said.
Altidore moved to the Toronto area in 2014-15 for a stint with Toronto FC. One of the first things he noticed about the NFL fans in that area is that many supported the Bills.
"As I was introduced to the Toronto sports scene, I was immediately introduced to the Buffalo Bills because of just the closeness and the amount of fans I got to a clearer view that travel to these games. There was a group of fans, I'll never forget, thousands of people that traveled that didn't even have tickets, that just wanted to be a part of the tailgate," he said.
Altidore became a Bills fan because of that closeness and shared his experience watching the team break the drought and then rise to the level of success they've had winning five-straight AFC East titles.
"To be able to follow that closely and then obviously play in Toronto and now have it all come to this, it's a dream come true because I generally got to watch that team grow through good and bad, and watch their popularity grow in the Northeast," he said.
