Carter, McGrady bring Bills, Raptors fans together

TORONTO – When Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady bought a minority stake in the Buffalo Bills, they insisted they’d do more than just contribute to the NFL team financially.

That was evident as they hosted Bills Night on Tuesday as the Toronto Raptors hosted the New 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 both sports, coming together, learning what American football is about,” said Carter in the media centre at Scotiabank Arena, noting there were a couple of Bills players attending the game. “They’ve never had the opportunity to experience what Raptors basketball looks like nowadays and that’s what we want.

“We want the appreciation to both sides, and that’s why we were excited about joining the Bills, having the opportunity to bring this collaboration together.”

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Carter and McGrady, cousins who both started their careers with the Raptors in the late 1990s, said they hoped the passionate fanbases of the NBA and NFL teams would rub off on each other.

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“Seeing what Jurassic Park looks like, particularly when they’re on the road during the playoffs and those things,” said Carter, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. “Seeing what Bills Mafia, if you’ve never had that opportunity, I recommend it, if you’re not a part of it, just to watch it.

“It’s just something special and (we want) both sides to kind of collab and do it together.”

Carter, McGrady and former Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore are part of a group of private equity investors that bought a 20 per cent stake in the Bills in December 2024.

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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 first quarter, throwing signed footballs to fans. Combo Raptors-Bills T-shirts were also given away to all spectators in attendance.

McGrady and Carter both grew up in Florida and said that football was formative to them as kids. McGrady said that one particular memory stuck with him.

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“My mom worked at Disney World, and I remember the day I was, like nine years old, she came home and she 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 came home, I was super excited.

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“I was a fan of all sports, that was my life, even as a kid, but it was definitely embedded in me.”

That love of all sports remains in McGrady who said that he even intends to go through 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.

“Right now, I can’t do it,” added McGrady, rubbing his knee. “We’re going to build to it.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2026.