Venus & Serena Williams, minority owners of the Miami Dolphins

Is there any celebrity that isn’t a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins?

From ,

MIAMI — Venus and Serena Williams have found a new sport: pro football.

The tennis-playing sisters will become the latest celebrities to own a stake in the Miami Dolphins, a person familiar with the deal said Wednesday. The person didn’t want to be identified because the team plans an announcement Tuesday.

Another person close to the negotiations said an agreement was near but not yet final. That person also didn’t want to be identified because the announcement has not been made.

The Williamses live in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., about an hour’s drive from the Dolphins’ stadium. Their new role will be significant in part because the NFL has no African-American majority team owner.

Musicians Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Marc Anthony recently bought small shares of the team. New Dolphins owner Stephen Ross also forged a partnership with singer Jimmy Buffett.

The Dolphins have said the involvement of the celebrities reflects the diversity of South Florida and shows that the franchise is connected with the community.

“There’s always so many opportunities out there, and Venus and I are always trying to expand our brand and do the best that we can do, and if an opportunity presents itself, we would love to see where it can take us,” Serena Williams said. “Who knows what’s going to happen, but hopefully we’ll be able to hopefully continue to expand our brand.”

A Dolphins spokesman said the team had no comment regarding next week’s announcement.

Ross, a New York real estate billionaire, completed his purchase of the Dolphins from Wayne Huizenga in January and began a partnership in May with Buffett. The agreement with the Estefans was announced in June, followed by the deal with Anthony last month.

Buffett and the Estefans are longtime Dolphins fans. The Williams sisters aren’t known to closely follow the Dolphins or the NFL.

Ross has said the minority owners are strategic partners and aren’t being brought aboard because of a financial need. He has pledged to improve the fan experience at games, and the celebrities will help — although it’s unlikely the sisters will be staging tennis exhibitions at halftime.

The problem with things like this is that you never know the actual truth.  Ross is openly saying that the various celebrities aren’t being brought aboard due to financial need, leading one to believe the team is financially stable.  Okay, fine.  If you’re financially stable though, why would you get all of these celebrities to boost the profile of the team…and hopefully generate more money?  Why not just focus on the “football experience“?  Because honestly, is the fan experience going to be increased because Venus and Serena are at a game in their luxury suite away from all of the fans anyway? Not really.  And especially with the Williamses, what are the benefits other than their money and corporate appearances?  If you are a Miami Dolphins fan, you are going to the games regardless of any minority owner.  If you are a Venus and Serena fan…you probably can find better ways to meet them or support them than buying Dolphins season tickets.  Furthermore, unlike someone like a Gloria Estefan, there is no obvious existing ancillary benefit; Estefan can sing the national anthem before the game, or perform at halftime…what can Venus & Serena do?