Russell Wilson and Ciara Want to Bring MLB to Portland

After being drafted by the Orioles and playing in spring training games for the Rangers and the Yankees, Russell Wilson is getting serious about Major League Baseball—as an investor.

The Seattle Seahawks quarterback and his wife, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Ciara, have signed on with an ownership group led by a former Nike executive, who is trying to bring an Major League Baseball franchise to Portland, Oregon.

Terms haven’t been disclosed, but Wilson and Ciara have become financial partners with the Portland Diamond Project, a group whose sole mission is to bring this second pro sports franchise to the city.

Led by Craig Cheek, the Portland Diamond Project will buy land in the area and begin the process of building a ballpark in the hope of becoming owners of the new franchise if MLB ever greenlights expansion into the market.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has said he would like to expand the 30-team league by two teams, and cities such as Charlotte, Mexico City and Montreal—former home of the Expos—are considered favorites.

To get a team in Portland, 75 percent of the current owners would have to sign off on the deal.