The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins made National Football League history on Wednesday as they became the league's first clubs to sell a stake in their team to private equity firms.

In a first for the National Football League, two private equity firms, Ares Management and Arctos Partners, have clinched separate deals to buy minority stakes in two franchises. Ares is investing in the Miami Dolphins while Arctos Partners is taking a chunk of the Buffalo Bills.

The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins each have agreed to sell minority ownership stakes to private equity, the first such deals in National Football League history.Why it matters: The NFL had been the last major U.