plenzmd1 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 I like Chuck Pollock's columns, and he writes a good one about the lease today. But at the end, he throws in this line "He’s in financial trouble and in desperation to keep the team in a town that’s incredibly loyal with a fan-base second to none." That is the very first time I have heard that Did the Mario signing send him into a hole? If that is true, does it affect decisions on coaches, GM, FAs etc This is a big deal...this guy needs to follow up with info if he has it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 There is no way in hell RW is in financial trouble unless Littman and the boys have been embezzling funds all these years. And I don't think RW is "desperate" to keep the team in Buffalo one way or the other. I simply take him at his word when he said that as long as he's alive the Bills would remain. After that, all bets are off. Pollack should also consider the new TV revenues that will kick in in a couple years. Even with the dept service a new owner would incur, those new revenues will make it a LOT easier for a new owner to cope even in a market like Buffalo. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 He may well have cash flow issues - that is common and is a far bigger concern when you think about the free agents they need to re-sign and the impending coaching decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffBill Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) I like Chuck Pollock's columns, and he writes a good one about the lease today. But at the end, he throws in this line "He's in financial trouble and in desperation to keep the team in a town that's incredibly loyal with a fan-base second to none." That is the very first time I have heard that Did the Mario signing send him into a hole? If that is true, does it affect decisions on coaches, GM, FAs etc This is a big deal...this guy needs to follow up with info if he has it. Ralph could spend $1 million dollars a week for the rest of his life and still have more money left then most of us could even imagine having. If spending money on one player wrecked his finances, and he thought he could turn this mess around with one player, and you know it didn't get spent without his authority, he deserves to go broke. Find it hard to believe he has finance problems in a sport with a salary cap. Edited December 24, 2012 by BuffBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 His net worth is over $900 million according to Forbes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 His net worth is over $900 million according to Forbes. How much of that is already leveraged in debt to bring down the cost of his "worth?" His best estate plan is to have every dime he has to his name to be leveraged in some way or form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffBill Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 His net worth is over $900 million according to Forbes. Now that you say that, maybe we can take up a holiday collection fund and get him some spare change to eat with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Daddy Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Now that you say that, maybe we can take up a holiday collection fund and get him some spare change to eat with? Bills players need to be the first to contribute.....many have not earned their $$$ this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 His net worth is over $900 million according to Forbes. How much of that is illiquid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffBill Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Bills players need to be the first to contribute.....many have not earned their $$$ this season. Don't disagree, they have earned millions for a crappy product. Wait a minute, like owner like employee I guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 How much of that is already leveraged in debt to bring down the cost of his "worth?" His best estate plan is to have every dime he has to his name to be leveraged in some way or form. Good point. Others have mentioned this as well around here over the years and the theory is that RW has already borrowed against his equity. I don't for a second believe RW is in financial trouble or that the Bills have cash flow problems. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) His net worth is over $900 million according to Forbes. The team is most if not all of that. He can't go spend a portion of the team. Otherwise, if he is it's his own fault. I still can't believe he's in the Hall of Fame. For what, taking a flyer on a cheap team back in the day. If you put the cost of a team today in then dollars, it's like a million bucks, for an NFL team. Granted, it was an AFL team, but still, the AFL was nearly as viable back then. He also had nothing to do w/ the merger. So what is he in the Hall for, for firing Polian? Because that's the biggest thing he's ever done for this team since Polian accidentally, not by Wilson's design, got the job to begin with. But I digress. If this is true, and I find it difficult to believe, then Wilson can only blame himself. Look at all the money, real money, spent on bust players over the years brought in on free agency. The list goes on and on, and while Mario's not a bust, he's hardly worth $100M, more than any other defender in the league. He's not even in the top-10 in sacks and has half of what his former teammate has. And most of what he does have this year he can thank rookie and crappy QBs for. The whole reason they brought him in wasn't so that he couldn't do a dam thing against Brady. If Wilson would have spent some money on a proven competent head coach, this discussion wouldn't even be taking place. Merchandise sales might be among the tops in the league, and like all winners, they'd have fans everywhere. Besides, he'll have plenty of money when he sells the team, which by his design, will be after he croaks. I'm sure his family members all have jobs just like the rest of us. Maybe they can all move to Buffalo and chip in on the taxes for this new stadium deal. Edited December 24, 2012 by TaskersGhost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Cain Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Conservatively the Ralph turns a $40 million profit per year right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Daddy Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Plus, how much does Ralph receive annually for the Toronto series? Wasn't that a $10 million deal for the five years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) Agree with the OP. To offhandedly mention that Ralph's in financial trouble, with no elaboration, is irresponsible on Pollock's part. Edited December 24, 2012 by BillnutinHouston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristocrat Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 So the team has been making tens of millions of dollars a year for a decade or more right? Do you think over the years the only business Ralph has had is the Bills? Do you think he just spent all of the money made off the team? I'd be willing to bet he has well into hundreds of millions socked away in investments, businesses and whatnot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Conservatively the Ralph turns a $40 million profit per year right now. Doubt that. Most NFL owners don't do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 So Chuck Pollock lobs a grenade with no attribution? Nice journalism there, bucko. Let's deconstruct that statement, shall we? Ralph's in trouble so he's "desperate" to keep the team in WNY??? Desperate, when he could have sold the Bills for over $1 billion before he signed the lease?? (Is it even signed yet??) PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Conservatively the Ralph turns a $40 million profit per year right now. I'm not disagreeing, but without owners agreeing to open their books for inspection, how did you arrive at this number? GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 (edited) Doubt that. Most NFL owners don't do that. Most owners are not as debt-free as Ralph is. The Bills are likely more profitable than the Cowboys and Pats when you consider those teams debt service. Now I have heard specualtion that Ralph borrowed against the Bills, not because he is in trouble, but to extract the revenue from his asset without a massive tax penalty when he goes. PTR Edited December 24, 2012 by PromoTheRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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