TORONTO – When Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady bought a minority stake within the Buffalo Bills, they insisted they’d do greater than just contribute to the NFL team financially.
That was evident as they hosted Bills Night on Tuesday because the Toronto Raptors hosted the Recent York Knicks. Carter, whose jersey was retired by the Raptors in an emotional ceremony last season, said that the collaboration was all about fun.
“The appreciation for each sports, coming together, learning what American football is about,” said Carter within the media centre at Scotiabank Arena, noting there have been a few Bills players attending the sport. “They’ve never had the chance to experience what Raptors basketball looks like nowadays and that’s what we wish.
“We would like the appreciation to either side, and that’s why we were enthusiastic about joining the Bills, having the chance to bring this collaboration together.”
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Carter and McGrady, cousins who each began their careers with the Raptors within the late Nineties, said they hoped the passionate fanbases of the NBA and NFL teams would rub off on one another.
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“Seeing what Jurassic Park looks like, particularly once they’re on the road throughout the playoffs and people things,” said Carter, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. “Seeing what Bills Mafia, for those who’ve never had that chance, I like to recommend it, for those who’re not an element of it, just to observe it.
“It’s just something special and (we wish) either side to sort of collab and do it together.”
Carter, McGrady and former Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore are a part of a gaggle of personal equity investors that bought a 20 per cent stake within the Bills in December 2024.
Bills players DeWayne Carter, Landon Jackson, and Michael Hoecht of Oakville, Ont., were introduced to the sold-out crowd at Scotiabank Arena during a stoppage of play in the primary quarter, throwing signed footballs to fans. Combo Raptors-Bills T-shirts were also given away to all spectators in attendance.
McGrady and Carter each grew up in Florida and said that football was formative to them as kids. McGrady said that one particular memory stuck with him.
“My mom worked at Disney World, and I remember the day I used to be, like nine years old, she got here home and she or he brought me a Randall Cunningham autograph,” said McGrady, who was inducted into basketball’s Hall of Fame in 2017. “They used to have the Pro Bowl in Orlando, right? So she got here home, I used to be super excited.
“I used to be a fan of all sports, that was my life, whilst a child, nevertheless it was definitely embedded in me.”
That love of all sports stays in McGrady who said that he even intends to undergo the Bills Mafia tradition of jumping through a folding table, probably.
“I’ve already told him, I’m going to do it,” said McGrady, gesturing to Carter.
“Without delay, I can’t do it,” added McGrady, rubbing his knee. “We’re going to construct to it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press