A bidding war between rapper Snoop Dog and actor Ryan Reynolds is brewing over the NHL’S Ottawa Senators franchise.
Snoop Dog posted on Instagram Monday night saying he is collaborating with Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks in a bid to buy the hockey franchise.
“Amazing what @neko_sparks is trying to do in Ottawa & I’m looking forward to being apart of that ownership team. I WANNA BRING HOCKEY TO OUR COMMUNITY,” he posted on Instagram.
However, The Remington Group, an investing party and “front runner” in the sale of the team located in the capital city of Canada, according to ESPN, includes Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, which means the two celebrities may compete against one another in buying the NHL team. Reynolds is no stranger to sports ownership. The actor recently purchased the English football club Wrexham FC alongside actor Rob McElhenney in 2021.
Snoop has never owned a sports franchise, but did start the Snoop Youth Football League in 2005, which has helped produce NFL stars like New England Patriots star JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Kansas City Chiefs’ John Ross, according to People.
In the rapper’s latest Instagram post regarding the bid, he shared an image of himself wearing a customized hockey sweater with the vintage version of the NHL’s logo along with the caption, “Boss moves.”
The Senators have never won the Stanley cup and have only appeared once in the finals in 2007. The team missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season and finished with the sixth-worst record out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference.
The franchise is expected to be sold for more than $1 billion, according to ESPN, making it the largest sale of a team in NHL history. It appears that it will have at least one Hollywood star as the face of its new ownership team.
Sports Illustrated reports the next round of bids is due May 15.
