SF Bills Fan

I welcome any move like this if helps keep them in WNY. All of these layers will make it hard for an outside group to move them.

I would image that there were a few owners (Jones one of them) that saw Buffalo as an easy solution to the LA problem. Not so fast. I would bet that Mark Davis is happy. This will likely guarantee that he has LA open for him to return to.

Yep- personal reasons were cited. I think he dropped out when it was apparent he would not win. Lerner was the NFLs choice and I think the bidding was a bit high (Lerner pad over $500 million- a record then). At the time, Jacobs didn't have the net wealth that he has now. There are big differences today in that this team is in his hometown and he is a lot richer.

Golisano will get involved only if he feels the Bills are in danger of getting purchased by an outside group. He doesn't want to get into a bidding war with another Buffalo group. He can certainly be counted on if we need it. I'd consider Golisano the "Plan B" should Jacobs, Trump or an as of yet unknown local group not materialize when the time is right. I don't think it will ever come to that, though. My money is and will remain on Jacobs. I think they are quietly making all the moves. I've believed that he would eventually be the owner of the Bills since he made a play for the Browns expansion team and it didn't work out. It was only a matter of time.

This is a good roadmap. I'd add in check out Gabriels Gate for wings, Blue Monk on Elmwood for beers, Buffalo also has a full blown casino now too. I'm getting envy as I type this out. Have a blast!

My initial scan says 6-10.

Agree on all points. I think out ideal scenario will involve the Jacobs family buying the team. He will get the support from NYS state for the new stadium. Safe to say Cuomo won't support a new stadium for Trump if he does gain control of the team. As for Bon Jovi- while I don't think he has come out and publicly stated that he will move the team to Toronto, I think it is generally accepted that is his plan. If so, what an ass. Complete disregard for millions of fans. He seriously wants to take a team and rip it from the loyal fans and move it to Canada! How red, white and blue of you there. Jon.

A newly healthy Kelly heading the winning ownership group would be one of the greatest stories in Buffalo sports history. We need all the cosmic forces to align and make this happen.

the only one I have watched again (beyond highlights on ESPN etc.) is the Houston Oilers comeback game. Never gets old. Beyond the glory years, most of the stuff is too painful. No reason to take a walk down that memory lane. If we ever win a Super Bowl, I would probably watch it every night. In fact, I would probably have a screen on my headstone that played the victory in a loop in perpetuity.

Nobody will buy that team and sit on it for 6 years with plans to move. They would lose hundreds of millions. If someone from LA buys them and plans to move them and the Raiders move before they can do it, then what? Bon Jovi and Larry Tannebaum combined don't have the cash to do it. The Bills will be bought at fair price by a local group or a group that plans to keep them in Buffalo and they will be playing in a new stadium by 2020. I would lay cash on that. In fact, a lot of people in Buffalo and NYS will because a new stadium will be funded by taxes. That will be the cost of keeping them in the area. Yep- there is no way the NFL will allow that PR nightmare to happen. If they want to enter the Canadian market full on, they won't have it botched in that fashion. Years of an empty stadium while a rebellious fan base waits out its team to be stolen away to a city that is less than enthusiastic about the NFL is not happening. they need a sane path to creating their own brand. There have been some colossal mistakes made with relocation. I don't think Goodell will allow another major blunder on his watch. That said, he said we need a new stadium and we will need it by the time this lease runs out.

This will likely be the end if him in SF. He had his second chance.

If the Bills leave, there will be no other team taking their place. If the Bills are moved away, tge NFL would be dead to me. In fact, everyone I know that is a Bills fan says this. If somebody from Toronto buys the Bills and thinks that they aregetting support from Buffalo and Rochester they would be sadly mistaken.

If he and the Toronto group bought the team later this year, they would never be able to go to their own teams games for 6 years while they waited out the lease. The team would play to an empty stadium for 6 years while they waited to get to the buyout year. The only reason fans would show up would be to stand outside and try to assassinate Bon Jovi on the way into the game. The only way he would get in is if he landed a helicopter on the field. Even then, someone would try to shoot it down. The NFL does not want the PR nightmare that would be created with an empty stadium, a rebellious and hostile fan base and a lame duck owner. That is not how they want to enter the Canadian market. "Stealing" a team from a strong fan base and giving it to Canada is not happening.

This is all a bunch of nonsense. No rock star or musician has any where near the cash to buy an NFL team. Jimmy Buffet bought into the Dolphins, I think, and his stake is tiny. It was all he could afford. It is almost a PR thing. They can't afford it. Bon Jovi is reportedly worth 300 million. I think that estimate is too high. For him to buy a big stake, he would need to sell everything he owns and eat mac n cheese from a box. At the end of the day, he and Larry Tannenbaum simply don't have the cash. Jeremy Jacobs could buy them both, so could Pegula. Jon Bon Jovi's name is used solely to raise some awareness that some yahoos in Canada are thinking of buying an NFL team, and nothing else. It would take at least 1.6 billion after all the fees and cost are added up to buy the Bills and that is before a stadium gets built. Thanks for coming out to play Jon. Now go play you little guitar for us.

That is exactly where the new stadium should go. A new stadiu that UB and the Bills share is intriguing, but we need to make it easy for Canadian fans. That is the number 1 priority for a new location

I've always had my money in Jacobs. I suspect we'll hear his name a lot in the coming months as he readies the bid

I would take Mark Cuban over Trump as an owner. Though, Trump is right- Cuban does not have the means alone. What people don't realize is most people do not have the cash to purchase a team on their own. Jerry Jones is the majority owner of the Cowboys, but only owns a fraction of the team, for example. One guy that has the cash and it is all liquid is Pegula. Pegula could buy and sell Jerry Jones over several times. Pegula could lay down a cool billion for the Bills not lose sleep that night.

No surprise- there is no tax liability tgst way. I bet she retains a piece of the team when it is sold. I think this is a benefit for Buffalo as it seems she is a pro Buffalo person. She can help make sure the team passes to local interests.

I think fans will get their chance since PSLs will line be a part of any new stadium. Ine concept that I think coukd also be used is Crowfunding. I believe the newly formed Fan Alliance may be exploring this idea.

The ticket prices will certainly rise and PSLs will likely be needed to help with any new stadium. But, it is either pay more or nothing at all since they will be gone.

No- it will not stop. The NFL is set up so that all franchises share national TV rights regardless of who owns the team. Where revenue is not shared is the local revenue. That is why teams in the big markets make more- a luxury box in NYC, for example, will go for a million a year and Buffalo 100k. Ad money and local radio rights are bigger. There is the disparity. But the revenue sharing is what allows Buffalo and Cleveland and Green Bay to share big dollars and compete. Without it, it woukd be like MLB. I don't know who originated revenue sharing (Rozelle, perhaps?) but I know that the big market owners were wise to accept it when it was proposed. They sacrificed their own revenue but knew it would make the league competitive and grow. I think Mara of the Giants was one of the guys that led the the charge to influence the other big market guys.

One thing for sure- the days of the lowest ticket prices in the league will end. Also, PSLs will likely be a part of the stadium plan.

The Raiders will pick up and go back to LA. They still consider it "home turf" and lay claim to it. The franchise is valued about where the Bills are. Mark Davis has said he has thought about it. He has even less loyalty to Oakland than Al. By moving to LA. the value of the franchise goes way up. They may not even have to pay the penalty for relocation since they still lay claim to LA. They will not get a new stadium in Oakland next year and they play in a terrible stadium older than the Ralph and they have poor attendance. Now that the Niners have their shiny new stadium,watch and see next year how this picks up steam when they are rejected for a new stadium. Since people are discussing Buffalo as a possible relocation option for LA, Mark Davis will think about getting there sooner than later. I would put money on it. No way he will let another LA team reap the benefits of an area they feel is theirs. Check back with me on this post in 3 years.

It they went to Toronto they would lose everyone on the American side of the border. If they go to LA, they will lose everyone in Ontario and WNY.

This lipstick is going to buy us 7 years until we get the permanent solution in place.