nucci Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, and in 1982 the Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. He was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft.[4] That pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cousineau Without Ralph Wilson would Buffalo have a AFL or NFL team ? would the AFL have survived and merged with NFL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 For naming rights, you cant ask for a better partner than a hat!sports apparel company with a cool and applicable name? On wilson... i could take vegas' side to some degree... and imo the team staying is one part pegulabucks and one part the timing of mr wilsons passing... But im not in the mood to continue to tear him down and dont see what good it does. The bottom line is he is the father of the buffalo bills and they are still here on solid footing. He should have the highest honor on the history of the team. I'm honestly surprised we're not (yet?) seeing the "RCW" made a permanent part of the uniforms a la the Bears and George Halas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Well said guys. His statue should be moved to the new stadium if we ever get one, glad the Pegulas are going to make money on the rights, and it would be neat to place RCW on the unis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy10 Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, and in 1982 the Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. He was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft.[4] That pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cousineau Without Ralph Wilson would Buffalo have a AFL or NFL team ? Without Ralph and the loans he floated in the AFL days to Al Davis and whatever Chowderhead owned the Pats at the time, would the Raiders and Pats even exist?... Wait, shoot. Maybe he did make some bad moves... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Without Ralph and the loans he floated in the AFL days to Al Davis and whatever Chowderhead owned the Pats at the time, would the Raiders and Pats even exist?... Wait, shoot. Maybe he did make some bad moves... And thus would the NFL had exploded as the #1 sports league or would we all be baseball fans now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wiz Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Well said guys. His statue should be moved to the new stadium if we ever get one, glad the Pegulas are going to make money on the rights, and it would be neat to place RCW on the unis.I have no doubt that statue will be part of a new stadium plan. He was far too important to the bills and the league for them to melt it down or junk it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Yep. The same guy who included a padlock provision in the last lease that essentially kept the Bills in Buffalo, which many hail as Ralph's last gift to Buffalo. Well done for missing the point, jon bon jovi. good luck with the new album. I bet it sucks. jw jw punking the troll...beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullim4 Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I know I will probably get flamed for this, but... I really like the name change. It's got a Buffalo connection, it's a good name, and it doesn't sound like a complete sell out like "Land Shark Stadium" or "Qualcomm Stadium". Other than "Rich Stadium", this would be my #2 choice. I frankly found it odd that RCW allowed the stadium to be named after him while he was alive. I feel like you should only name things like a stadium after people once they leave the organization, or they pass away. After having called the place "Rich Stadium" for my entire life, it felt awkward to call it "The Ralph". "New Era Field" doesn't feel as awkward for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judman Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 New Era is at least a name that is not so obviously corporate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 would the AFL have survived and merged with NFL? Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 (edited) You have a terminally low level of understanding. Are you really too stupid to understand that there was no poison pill? The guy that bought this franchise was the guy (Pegula) who offered the most. By far. Just as Ralph designed. There was no other offer that came close to what Pegula paid. And the estate instructions Ralph left made it CLEAR that the team goes to highest bidder. How stupid are you that u that you cannot cannot understand that? Too dumb of course to address any of the greedy, dysfunctional moves your beloved owner made. Typical Buffalo loser. I notice of course that you are way too stupid to actually address any point made in the post. Tell me, genius, your defense of Ralph losing the #1 pick in the entire draft to the CFL. You cannot, and it's clear to anybody you are way over your head. But go ahead, give it your best shot, genius. Love to hear it. The lease terms bound the team to WNY. That's why people dropped out left and right (there was a large LA group for one). Anyone that was interested in the team was going to have to keep them through the lease. To question someone's understanding when you don't understand is beyond strange. In addition to Ralph keeping the team in WNY he had some other big wins. The Bills signed the 1st naming rights deal in pro sports. He voted against the CBA and was wildly mocked for it. As it turns out he was 100% right on what would happen. No one disputes that anymore. He kept multiple teams afloat in the eary days to let the league build to what's it's become. He kept the Bills financially viable in a small, economically depressed area, with an old stadium, by surrounding himself with great sports business minds. At the end of it all he got $1.4B. He certainly wasn't stupid. Huh? I think that he's referring to keeping the Pats and Raiders afloat. If they folded would the AFL have survived? Edited August 14, 2016 by Kirby Jackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionallyUnstable Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 It will be forever known as "The Ralph" with my group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbanach Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I don't mind it at all. It is literally a new era of ownership and figuratively with the New Era name. And it's a Buffalo-based company so I can dig that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristocrat Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 so whats the money per year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Ralph did many great things for the NFL and WNY. Was he the smartest owner? Probably not. Did he make some poor decisions? Yes. Did he make decisions that were bottom line driven? Absolutely. But he always meant well and the Bills will be here for decades more thanks to him so whats the money per year? Heard both $3MM and $5MM per year. Deal lasts through current lease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 It will be forever known as "The Ralph" with my group And that is fine.....frankly I think something should be done in some capacity to keep Ralph in there somewhere as a sign of respect But.....the reality is New Era is gonna pay millions for those naming rights....and its the smart play financially Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 so whats the money per year? 3mill+ per year reported, specific financials not yet out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I think that he's referring to keeping the Pats and Raiders afloat. If they folded would the AFL have survived? I am...thought this was common knowledge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 I am...thought this was common knowledgeIt's an inconvenient truth for the "realists." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Too bad we're not a "covered" stadium. A huge New Era cap should be put over it during bad weather games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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