Most of us are content to simply stare at pictures of Jennifer Lopez while we play fantasy football. But Marc Anthony gets to stare at the real J.Lo, and now he also gets to have a stake in an actual NFL team. Anthony has acquired a minority interest in the Miami Dolphins. His stake is believed to be relatively small, but the move is consistent with majority owner Stephen Ross' trend of recruiting celebrity partners: Anthony joins Gloria Estefan and Jimmy Buffett as famous minority owners (Buffett's deal even includes the naming rights to the team's stadium, which is now called Land Shark Stadium after Buffett's brand of beer). Anthony and Lopez were both presented with Dolphins jerseys at a press conference announcing the deal.
Anthony is a New York native but will be moving to Miami to be closer to the action. It's uncertain just how hands-on he will be, but Ross said there won't be any expectations to "perform." For his part, Anthony is a huge football fan who performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl in New Orleans in 2002, and will do the same when the Dolphins play the New York Jets on October 12.
While many athletes aspire to be musicians, a number of superstars of the music world have turned more to ownership than to breaking a sweat. Jay-Z has an ownership interest in the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Usher has a stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, Nelly has a portion of the Charlotte Bobcats and Jon Bon Jovi owns the Arena Football League's Philadelphia Soul. Of those, only the Cavs have had any sort of success since getting a cash influx from a musician, but Anthony's Dolphins have a fighting chance this year. Perhaps Anthony's next Super Bowl performance will be for his own team.