Lurker

Of course a corporate entity can be set up to hold the franchise. But it must be a corporation whose "primary purpose shall at all times be and remain the operation of a professional football team...and the only material asset of which shall be the member club." "The ownership interest in the Football Company shall be held directly by a holding company that shall have no operating business or material assets but only ownership interests in other entities, and the ownership interests in the holding company shall be owned directly by individuals (or certain trusts or partnerships approved by the Commissioner's office." All the gory details can be found in Article III of the NFL bylaws...

Way too long, way not funny...

He must be the black sheep of the family...

Here's the news you may have missed on that, bucko...

The guys listed by the OP are still here...

Then you create a new corporation in which one person owns the majority of the stock in the NFL franchise. Like Buffalo Bills Football, Inc.

How ya doing, Robby...

To reiterate, corporations can not own franchises. Straight from the Horse's Ass (in the case of Steve Simmons): http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/steve_simmons/2010/08/18/15069316.html "Ted Rogers didn't invest in the Bills In Toronto series to lose money, and were the great man alive today, he would probably be astonished by how much this has ended up costing his company. Rogers was convinced by the people selling this to him - primarily his right-hand man Phil Lind - that Toronto would pay ANYTHING for NFL football and when Rogers heard this, he believed a money-making venture was on the way."

How come I can't put you on ignore?

Don't apoligize. Post more often--especially when it's good stuff like this...

Thanks for starting my week off with this gem...

Because this o-line, despite the fine YPC by Fred and CJ, is not that effective in smash mouth, "we're running and we don't care if you know it" mode. Setting up the run with the pass is a time honored scheme that works when you're trying to cover up holes/injuries on your OL. I'm much happier that Chan knows this and doesn't do what the last three HCs did--force the talent (or lack thereof) to adapt to their "system," results be damned..

Look up the phrase "straw man" in the dictionary and you'll get the OP as the definition...

Exmples A and B: Washington Redskin, and yes, America's Team. Both are among the most valuable franchises and not because of the product they put on the field. Cowboys Stadium has 15,000 club seats that cost $340 for each NFL game. Yet over past decade, the 'Boys record is barely above .500 (91-85 since 2001). The 'Skins have had 2 winning seasons in the past 11 years, yet the waiting list for tickets is off the charts. This thread has become sidetracked by those who interpret the OP's convoluted intertwining of "similar markets" with the difference between good and bad ownership. If the Rooney's owned the Bills, the on-field product would surely have been much better--but the market challenges (i.e. ticket prices) would be just as great for them as Ralph, putting the next owner behind the eightball in terms of generating an operating profit to cover a $400-$500 million (if not higher) debt load...

How is this different than being under the gun?...

Happens around here all the time. Won't change now, won't change later... That's how you end up with George Edwards...

You're right, I don't unless the debt service obligation of the future owner is much like Ralph's (i.e., nothing). If the bulk of the funds used to purchase the Bills are borrowed, it becomes more tenuous, even with Rochester and southern Ontario support. Unlike the Jerry Jones' and Little Danny Snyder's of the world (and even the Rooney family)--who can repeatedly screw up and still come up smelling like roses because of their market dynamics--the future owner of the Bills will need to generate so much ticket demand from WNY/Rochester/PA/Ontario that he can raise ticket prices/suite lease renevue to cover his debt service nut (which averages about $20 million annually for all 32 teams--and is likely much, much higher for teams that have changed hands in recent years. Considering the Bills had an operating income of just $41 million in 2011, that debt service obligation would be huge). I don't think we're that far apart in our thinking. We both agree it will be a whole new ball game when the team is sold. However, I don't agree that the region's ability to support the team in the past (with cheap ticket prices and marginal corporate support) will be enough to ensure the future unless they knock it out of the park in terms of generating demand from the 150 mile ring outside WNY. We've beat this horse enough, I think...

And I continue to contend that the OP's point that Pittsburgh and Buffalo are similar markets is flawed: 2010 Metro Area Personal Income ($ Billions) New York City__________$1,028.6 Los Angeles_____________$561.1 Chicago________________$420.1 Washington_____________$321.6 Philadelphia_____________$281.8 Dallas__________________$264.2 Houston________________$263.0 San Francisco-Oakland___$257.5 Boston_________________$252.7 Miami__________________$233.0 Atlanta_________________$202.6 Seattle_________________$169.3 Detroit_________________$163.9 Minneapolis_____________$153.8 Phoenix________________$151.7 San Diego______________$141.7 Baltimore_______________$133.4 Denver_________________$119.7 St. Louis_______________$116.9 Tampa_________________$103.2 Pittsburgh_____________$100.7 Kansas City_____________$84.8 Cincinnati_______________$84.6 Cleveland_______________$84.1 Milwaukee/Green Bay_____$78.3 Charlotte________________$68.6 Indianapolis______________$68.3 Nashville________________$64.0 Jacksonville______________$53.3 New Orleans_____________$49.9 BUFFALO_______________$43.4 Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Given Bell's lack of strength/anchor, he'd better hope he's up to it...

Due almost entirely to a lack of debt service due to Ralph's one-in-a-lifetime membership in the Foolish Club. We better hope anybody spending $800 million to buy the Bills does so out of petty cash...

At some ofthe least expensive ticket prices in the NFL (or pro sports, for that matter). Putting fannys in the seats is one thing--getting revenue comparable to what other teams can generate is another. As other posters have mentioned, the lack of corporate suite prospects in WNY, as well as the personal income differential puts the Bills behind larger NFL markets. Scalper prices for each team are another reflection of this trend. Sure, it starts with winning. But having an income base to tap is also critically important. I wonder how Bills fans would react if Ralph asked them to pay 25% more per ticket--the difference between what Pittsburgh charges ($74.32) and what Buffalo seats go for ($59.19) on average?

The Bills were 9th in operating income in 2011--Ralph's making plenty of money because of his lack of debt service. Better to use the 'manage ignored users' feature, roboman...

You must have missed the OP's statement "Pittsburgh small city, former steel town. Has same economy." If he wanted to acknowledge that the Rooney's are strong football people, fine--that's a given and no astute NFL fan would dispute the fact. But the 'same market' point is flat out wrong and has no bearing on comparisons to the Bills issues with selling tickets...

Lurie's just the kind of fanboy owner that would buy TD's spiel. Yet another anchor chain around Andy Ried's neck... Eagle's Press Release: "An experienced and successful front office executive, Donahoe has served as the director of football operations of the Pittsburgh Steelers (1991-99) and as the general manager and team president of the Buffalo Bills (2001-05). A native of Mt. Lebanon, PA, Donahoe began his career with the Steelers as a regional scout (1986-88) and was promoted to the team’s director of pro personnel and development (1989-90). He was named the team’s director of football operations in 1991, and played a major role in the Steelers 84-60 record and six playoff appearances in his nine seasons. From 1991-99, the Steelers drafted 12 players who went on to earn 31 Pro Bowl appearances." Gotta love he quick reference to Buffalo, followed by the glowling prose about his time with the Stillers.

Per the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Pittsburgh metro area has more than twice the personal income of the Buffalo area ($100.7 billion vs. $43.4 billion in 2010) and is larger than the Buffalo and Rochester areas combined ($85.5 billion). The Pittsburgh metro area's 2010 population (2,357,951) was more than 167,000 larger than the Buffalo and Rochester metros combined (2,190,016). Somewhat of an advantage in selling tix, wouldn't you say...