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OK. So why waste money on a new stadium then? This whole kabuki dance is just so much piss in the wind. IMO, the Bills aren't going anywhere, no matter how much Jones and Kraft b-word about it. The league will get richer, the owners will get wealthier and the sun will come up tomorrow...

It's not about the stadium. It's about revenue. Full stop. A new (or even renovated) stadium that generates $20-$30 million in new revenue per year for the NFL is NOT a good return on $850 million - $1 billion in new investment--at least half of which would likely be public dollars. The league isn't going to fold its tent if they don't make as much money as some places on games in Buffalo. Any more than games in Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Nashville or Pittsburgh. It has plenty of other revenue sources to tap and will likely do so before anybody ponies up $$$ for whatever the Pegula's decide...

To me it means keep slapping band aids on New Era. They're not moving to TO without a stadium there (which is nowhere on the horizon) or to placate a handful of owners like Jones, Kraft and Blank...

https://news.wbfo.org/post/pegula-says-new-bills-stadium-would-be-scaled-down-version-others "Pegula added if a new stadium were to be built, there would be many challenges ahead. “It’s going to take a lot of work from a lot of people. The county, the fans, us, the stadium, the league, the state,” she said." The county's not going to help--Poloncarz has already said as much. New York State is battling a structural deficit due to federal Medicaid reimbursement changes and it will be very tough to go hat in hand to them. The fan base does not want to (can't) pay for PSLs or substantially higher tix prices. So, who does that leave to fund the thing? Pegs and the league. That doesn't seem like a funding model the NFL will embrace...

Since Pegs has more $$$$ than all but seven of them, I think he can push back fine...

Seems unique to the NBA... China's decision to pull sponsorships and television coverage because Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong in October is believed to have cost the NBA anywhere between $150 million and $200 million, league sources said.

A. Toronto doesn't want a team B. If they got an expansion one, ticket prices would be too high for the 5,000-10,000 fans from southern Ontario that regularly go to Bills games C. The NFL can't make the Bills move--it would be a PR nightmare that would bring A LOT of political heat down on the league that it doesn't need D. Pegula is the 8th richest owner. This is not Ralph and his comparatively small wealth (by NFL standards) that we're talking about I just don't see an expansion team in TO being a threat to Buffalo...

Totally agree on Marshawn. My least favorite: Drew Bledsoe

"Significant renovation" is the new stance for Goodell and the big takeaway from his remarks, IMO. I suspect he's been given a heads up on the consultant's findings and is spading the ground ahead of the news being released by the Pegula's in a few months. IMO, a new stadium never jibed with WNY's economic reality. Lack of corporate headquarters / luxury suite demand, flat population growth and now the limited appetite of Albany to pitch in, given the state's Medicaid-related deficit woes. The owners may finally be accepting this reality, despite all their past saber rattling...

Nope. Not a chance...

Well, that probably entailed pouring his scotch and picking up the dry cleaning...

49 and counting... https://www.ispot.tv/topic/athlete/oQK/baker-mayfield

Yep. Its a paycheck, though. Not seeing a real good personality fit between AVP and the Commercial King, however...

I can't see a majority of owners ever voting for that. Revenue sharing and the salary cap (level playing field) is what made the NFL so successful. Owners like Rooney and Hunt would never back that, and they still carry a lot of weight with the league. The Bills missing out on future revenue is not the same as being unprofitable or a drag on other teams. It's likely that the Bengals, Bucs, Jags, Browns and even the Packers, Saints, or Titans would "loose out" under the gambling revenue scenario you lay out--they just don't have large population / fanbases either relative to the top metro areas....

What the Forbes numbers don't show is the debt service that each team pays on their stadium. Ralph (and now Pegs) don't pay any--Its how Ralph survived all those years against the large market teams. Now you've got a lot of teams (as GG pointed out) building these grand palaces and having to cover their debt nut--which makes them want to squeeze as much revenue as they can from every source possible. To which I say...Nuts! They made their choices--don't ask fans from other cities to pony up and help them carry that debt load....

Or UFAs like Beasley, Phillips etc...

Not going to. Only the Packers have to report anything publically. The Forbes list may be suspect, but I'll bet it's 85% right. And yes, excluding debt service is a biggie. But my point is that the Bills don't have to bend over and say "Thank you sir, may I have another!" as much as the boogieman reputation the NFL tries to promote. Think more carnival magician from Kansas, less Wizard of Oz. The Bills are doing what they can to drive the process (hiring a planning consultant, speaking with stakeholders). But if they decide to renovate New Era rather than build a new stadium, I don't think the other owners will have much recourse to penalize them (my opinion). Might they get less revenue sharing at some nebulous point down the road? Maybe. But does that take them off the board? Hardly, IMO...

If nothing else, McD's nomination is is a nice 'Think Buffalo!' advertisement to the upcoming class of UFAs...

Why would the league ever do that? The Jones' and Kraft's and Kronke's would like that. But getting a majority of the other owners to go along? Most teams aren't in the super city group--they're more like the Bills. They know where the action is--asset appreciation, not cash flow. Can't see it happening... https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/09/04/the-nfls-most-valuable-teams-2019-cowboys-lead-league-at-55-billion/#56c701252f1b 2018 Operating Income Per Team ($ Millions) Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization 1 Cowboys $420 2 Patriots $240 3 Texans $176 4 Eagles $150 5 Giants $142 6 Ravens $131 7 Saints $126 8 Redskins $120 9 Jets $115 10 Seahawks $106 11 Colts $104 12 Steelers $102 13 Falcons $97 14 Broncos $94 15 49ers $93 16 Cardinals $87 17 Chiefs $83 18 Bills $82 19 Panthers $78 20 Jags $77 21 Lions $73 22 Chargers $72 23 Dolphins $67 24 Bucs $66 25 Vikings $65 26 Bears $62 27 Bengals $58 28 Titans $53 29 Packers $39 30 Browns $32 31 Rams $30 32 Raiders $28

They don't have leverage over the league. But by the same token, the Bills are not as much at the NFL's mercy as you imply, IMO. Terry and Kim can keep doing things to grow revenue, like renovating New Era, but the NFL is not likely to take away the franchise if they don't build a new stadium IMO. And any revenue sharing reduction they would impose would be bupkis to the 8th wealthiest owner. I get the logic of your argument. I used to say it as well and it's what we heard forever when Ralph owned the team. But I'm not convinced that the other owners have the will or the stones to enforce a new stadium or else mandate on Buffalo. Ralph used to be a pipsqueek in the grand scheme of things. The Pegula's are another kettle of fish entirely...

The Packers got about $244 million in 2017 (see story above). So the Bills likely got something between $200 million and $250 million. If the owners were to cut that revenue share by $20-$30 million out of spite because Pegs won't build a new stadium, does anybody think that would sink the team? I don't. And I suspect Terry would just go and drill a new well to recoup that amount...

I've heard that same story for 50 years. I used to subscribe to this 'common knowledge' as well. I don't believe it anymore, however, given how unimportant gate revenue is in the grand scheme of NFL economics...

Here's a good article (about the Packers) that puts into perspective what a red herring local stadium revenue is: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-12/nfl-teams-split-record-7-8-billion-in-2016-up-10-percent?sref=Tz2RnUgZ NFL Teams Split Record $7.8 Billion in 2016, Up 10 Percent By Eben Novy-Williams July 12, 2017 The National Football League distributed a record $7.8 billion to its 32 teams in 2016, a jump of almost 10 percent that reflects the league’s increasingly rich TV deals, according to a financial disclosure by the Green Bay Packers. Each NFL team receives an equal share of the league’s “national revenue” -- primarily money from television deals, but also league-wide sponsorships, licensing and merchandise sales. The Packers, the only publicly owned franchise in major U.S. sports, reported Wednesday that they got $244 million, up from $222.6 million last year. The $7.8 billion is just one piece of the league’s overall revenue, which is estimated at $14 billion for 2017. Goodell has stated he’d like the league to reach $25 billion by 2027. That growth will depend largely on the NFL’s ability to navigate a media marketplace that is rapidly evolving, as younger generations abandon traditional cable packages and streaming becomes more important. The Packers, the only publicly owned franchise in major U.S. sports, reported Wednesday that they got $244 million, up from $222.6 million last year. Green Bay’s local revenue, which the team generates and keeps for itself, was a franchise-record $197.4 million, bringing the team’s total to $441.4 million. ================================================================================== So if road teams get roughly 40% of the $200 million in stadium-related revenue the Packers generated in 2017 that amounts to roughly $10 million each. NFL teams aren't going to go bust if that number is only $8 million from a game at New Era. Not when we're talking about $14 billion in total revenue for the league overall. It's a rounding error in the grand scheme of things...

The Bills average ticket prices are the lowest in the league, but just 4% below the Browns and 9% below the Bengals. Cleveland has a relatively new stadium. Cincy's in the same boat as the Bills (old, outmoded stadium) but there's not a lot of support among elected officials to build them a new one either https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2019/10/01/bengals-cincinnati-politician-tweets-future-without-nfl-team/3832104002/ I know what message the owners have been sending. But you know what? What if Pegs said nope, can't do it. Rolling over is what the NFL expects, but really, playing a bit of chicken here might be the way to go. Pegs has some powerful friends he can call on (ie Chuck Schumer). Maybe he can ask Goodell how he likes his anti-trust exemption...