Moments in NFL History: Famous names join NFL ownership groups

Celebrities long have been connected to the sports world.

On any gameday you might catch Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa in their “Black and Yellow,” Bill Murray roaming the seats in Wrigley Field, Matthew McConaughey flashing a “Horns Up” on the sidelines in Austin on a Saturday or any courtside seat during a Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks game.

The eyes of the fans – and sometimes even the athletes they are watching – are on them. They would do anything for the team they support.

While their influence is there, however, they have not gone as far as some other celebrities, and that brings us to Miami on this day in history: May 6, 1965.

Joseph “Joe” Robbie owned and operated his own law firm, held political seats and was a state representative for the 1960 Democratic National Convention. But his true passion? Football. Robbie was a season ticket-holder with the Minnesota Vikings but wanted to take his fandom to a new level.

After a meeting with then-AFL Commissioner Joe Foss, his former college classmate and Navy midshipmen, Robbie was directed to look at Miami as the new home for an AFL team. But even with Robbie’s stature, he needed another person to make his dream come true.

Insert Danny Thomas.

Thomas starred in his own TV series “Make Room for Daddy (The Danny Thomas Show).” The show enjoyed a successful 11-year run and led Thomas to a career as a television producer.

He came alongside Robbie to provide the funding needed, and those two – with approval from Miami’s then-mayor Robert King High in a meeting that took place on this date – would go on to secure Miami’s AFL franchise, the Dolphins.

Thomas and Robbie could be considered trend setters.

Looking around the NFL, more celebrities, businessmen and women and fans of the game are taking on ownership roles. Some large, some small, but with the same passion that Robbie and Thomas felt for the Dolphins.

Currently, these “celebrities” hold ownership stakes in NFL franchises:

• Steve Tisch, New York Giants
• Jozy Altidore, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter, Buffalo Bills
• Penner Sports Group: Rob Walton, Greg Penner, Carrie Walton-Penner, Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton, Denver Broncos
• Tom Brady, Las Vegas Raiders
• Emilio & Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Venus & Serena Williams and Fergie, Miami Dolphins
• Magic Johnson, Washington Commanders

“This was a dream,” McGrady, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, said in the news conference announcing his minority ownership in the Bills. "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.”

McGrady’s cousin, fellow Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Vince Carter, shared the same emotion at the news conference.

"I never imagined," he said. "Obviously, I played football growing up and everything, and yes, I wanted to be a part of an ownership group … And I got the phone call from Mac (McGrady), and he read it to me, and I was like, ‘Interesting.’”

McGrady and Carter shared many similarities, but what made it all special for them and Jozy Altidore, the former U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team star, was the connection they had to the city of Toronto.

Altidore moved to North America in 2015, when he signed to play for Toronto FC.

"I was immediately introduced to the Buffalo Bills because of just the closeness and the amount of fans," Altidore said. "It's a dream come … [and] I couldn't be happier. I couldn't be more blessed to have this opportunity, and I'm so grateful for it."

These individuals have earned awards, trophies and recognitions too many to count. They had successful careers and could’ve walked away content. There is something about pro football that draws people – a lure that shows no sign of abating.

This article from the Hall of Fame Communications Team is part of recurring series celebrating memorable moments in NFL history.