BillnutinHouston Posted May 17, 2017 Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) Its not conjecture, its common sense Why would the bills purposely take a position to directly devalue their asset? In that case, maybe polancarz and nys would have been more than happy to sign a 1,000 year lease with a trillion dollar buyout. Negotiations go: the bills want as much public money as possible to improve their earning potential, and the county wants to lesson the blow, have the team kick in, and obtain as lengthy a binding nra as possible. The bills negotiating up to a 400 million dollar buyout is like you going into a car dealership and talking them up from $22,000 to $28,000. This round, the county and state was in a much better negotiating position than the past. No way ralph wilson wanted to put up the money for a relocation/facility at such an advanced age. He also couldnt really sell, as he desired to own them to the wire, and selling would mean his family would essentially be double-taxed. Also, they didnt know when mr wilson would pass away. The way it went down was the most prime in terms of the nra timeline. They werent even done with the renovations they signed for. I think this stick of dynamite goes boom. http://buffalonews.com/2014/04/12/under-lease-court-could-bar-any-new-owner-from-moving-buffalo-bills/ "I've been in this business a long time, and I keep referring to this as an incredible gift that Ralph Wilson gave to the people of Western New York, said Marc Ganis of SportsCorp Ltd., a Chicago sports consulting firm with strong connections to the NFL. The community will understand its value more and more as time goes on." Well, some in the community get it, but not all apparently. Edited May 17, 2017 by BillnutinHouston
beerme1 Posted May 17, 2017 Posted May 17, 2017 I have at times defended Russ in the past. You can't blame him for being a ****ty GM when he was never supposed to be a GM because he would be a ****ty Gm and everyone but Ralph knew that.As much as I've barked about Ralph over the years he certainly leaves behind more than one gift with the team still here and the proceeds from the sale basically staying here also. That most certainly is a gift from Ralph. Anyway, time for all old cronies to go and I think that started with that piece of **** Berchtold being replaced. Next up is Overdorf. Gotta say though, I don't ever expect to see Russ removed but at least he is being distanced from things he should be distanced from.
TheFunPolice Posted May 17, 2017 Posted May 17, 2017 Littman had much more of a direct role in the lease renegotiations than Brandon did. I know that from someone who sat at the table. Littman basically was Ralph Wilson's personal business manager from what I was told. That's why this idea that he was going to answer to Russ Brandon during the transition was hilarious to me. Plenty of respected posters on here were adamant that Brandon was Littman's boss, which was non-sense when you consider that Littman took care of ALL of Mr. Wilson's money-making ventures including but not limited to HIS FOOTBALL TEAM (i.e. not Russ Brandon's team). Suggesting that is to suggest that Ralph Wilson answered to Russ Brandon. In my view it was just a way for people to support Russ Brandon, saying he was doing all the right things and that we shouldn't be worried, and I get the need for it so I'm not inclined to rip anyone for it. Everything worked out pretty well I would say, and IMO Russ Brandon deserves a lot of credit for it. Now, does that mean he earns a lifetime gig here? It's entirely possible that Russ Brandon doesn't want to do the job forever and will leave for a gig in the league office, for example, on his own eventually. Either way, the guy was obviously in on a lot of football decisions, and the team (and some fans) are very sensitive about it. To me that is not that big a deal. What I care about is now, and right now the front office is loaded with professional football men and a head coach who the Pegulas love and who will have full reign to do whatever they want. Whatever pull Russ had in football decisions is done now.
May Day 10 Posted May 17, 2017 Posted May 17, 2017 Either way, the guy was obviously in on a lot of football decisions, and the team (and some fans) are very sensitive about it. To me that is not that big a deal. What I care about is now, and right now the front office is loaded with professional football men and a head coach who the Pegulas love and who will have full reign to do whatever they want. Whatever pull Russ had in football decisions is done now. I have been on Brandon's case for 10 years now... but I agree with this. It seems the Bills finally got their 'czar' from the outside, in McDermott. They are finally building a professional football executive staff which is not tailored to Wilson/Littman/Brandon/Overdorf's needs and wants to maintain control over the football operation. At long last, his involvement has likely been completely marginalized. I do think both teams could do a lot to repair their image and perception/relationship with fans. I know losing has a lot to do with it, but both operations seem to be pretty tone-deaf in a lot of ways. I hope Brandon can repair that, but I dont think of him as a real 'fan-friendly' executive. I think this stick of dynamite goes boom. http://buffalonews.com/2014/04/12/under-lease-court-could-bar-any-new-owner-from-moving-buffalo-bills/ "I've been in this business a long time, and I keep referring to this as an incredible gift that Ralph Wilson gave to the people of Western New York, said Marc Ganis of SportsCorp Ltd., a Chicago sports consulting firm with strong connections to the NFL. The community will understand its value more and more as time goes on." Well, some in the community get it, but not all apparently. I got sidetracked here, but my main point was we should thank Wilson/Littman and not Brandon for 'negotiating' for the relocation penalty. The suggestion that Brandon went into the talks and unilaterally stuck a poison pill in there, saving the Bills is a silly fantasy. If I had the motivation, I think I could 'argue' reasons Wilson might not have desired such a penalty... and if he had lived 3-5 more years, we could have had a real problem... and without Terry Pegula, we could have a lack of a buyer... But I really don't want to think that way, it really matters not at all. The fact will always remain that the whole thing went down very favorably for us and the Bills. I don't have a problem at all giving Wilson credit for that, even if it was 'only' agreeing to the NRA.
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