Ralph Wilson is Not Cheap

[paleo]

I'll gladly take all your emotional responses! Go ahead and fire away. But in a quieter time, when the anger and frustration we all feel subsides, when we dare to let logic enter the conversation, the bottom line is that the Buffalo Bills do not bring in enough money to fund a Super Bowl winner.

 

We are unhappy when Winfield, Williams, Clements and others are due for a big contract and our team let's them leave. We hate it when top free agents are never signed by the Bills, especially when they end up as opponents in our division.

The top GMs and coaches are never hired by Mr. Wilson and that often means we cannnot win games where coaching is the deciding factor.

 

So each year we hope and dream that the planets will line up and we will be one of those one year wonder teams who win games they shouldn't, get more than their share of lucky calls and bounces, and overachieves in their play. When it doesn't happen. we start blaming owners, staff and players. Yes, they fail to realize the success we hope for, but the culprit is the bottom line. How can we be so deluded to think that we can spend the bucks that the Patriots, Cowboys and other rich organizations do, when Ralph doesn't have anything close to their revenue coming in?

 

Of course, it's easy to be a fan and say he should do it for the community and people who support his team. But while it is easy to say, there are very few business people who would actually spend more than what is financially expedient of the money received from their (cash cow) NFL franchise. I'll bet I have accused Mr. Wilson of being cheap a hundred times over the years. But deep down, I know he is not the problem. The decline of major corporations, population and economic prosperity in Buffalo is the reason behind it all. I have spent thousands on season and game tickets, team gear, etc. but the Bills don't "owe me" anything. Each year I get to decide whether I want to pay for the product or not. Whether I want to be frustrated or not. I am still going to be a fan of the Bills next year, even though I'll hate it if they have a bad season. But when I think it through logically, there are no villains involved; just the economics in my beloved city.

[Ramius]

Don't you have better things to do with your time, Mr. Littman?

 

ps - ralph should have gotten rid of you, NOT polian

[Flbillsfan#1]

I'll gladly take all your emotional responses! Go ahead and fire away. But in a quieter time, when the anger and frustration we all feel subsides, when we dare to let logic enter the conversation, the bottom line is that the Buffalo Bills do not bring in enough money to fund a Super Bowl winner.

 

We are unhappy when Winfield, Williams, Clements and others are due for a big contract and our team let's them leave. We hate it when top free agents are never signed by the Bills, especially when they end up as opponents in our division.

The top GMs and coaches are never hired by Mr. Wilson and that often means we cannnot win games where coaching is the deciding factor.

 

So each year we hope and dream that the planets will line up and we will be one of those one year wonder teams who win games they shouldn't, get more than their share of lucky calls and bounces, and overachieves in their play. When it doesn't happen. we start blaming owners, staff and players. Yes, they fail to realize the success we hope for, but the culprit is the bottom line. How can we be so deluded to think that we can spend the bucks that the Patriots, Cowboys and other rich organizations do, when Ralph doesn't have anything close to their revenue coming in?

 

Of course, it's easy to be a fan and say he should do it for the community and people who support his team. But while it is easy to say, there are very few business people who would actually spend more than what is financially expedient of the money received from their (cash cow) NFL franchise. I'll bet I have accused Mr. Wilson of being cheap a hundred times over the years. But deep down, I know he is not the problem. The decline of major corporations, population and economic prosperity in Buffalo is the reason behind it all. I have spent thousands on season and game tickets, team gear, etc. but the Bills don't "owe me" anything. Each year I get to decide whether I want to pay for the product or not. Whether I want to be frustrated or not. I am still going to be a fan of the Bills next year, even though I'll hate it if they have a bad season. But when I think it through logically, there are no villains involved; just the economics in my beloved city.

It is not just economics. Teams can be built without breaking the bank, & in fact Danial Snyder has PROVEN breaking the bank will not buy you a winner. The SAD FACT is that at 90 years old, Ralph is not as sharp as he was at 50 or 60. He is making decisions using a 90 year old brain. At the VERY LEAST, he has impared memory at 90 years old. He probably FORGOT how MAD he was at Jauron for some of the games Jauron CAUSED the Bills to lose. Who knows just how senile Ralph is at 90? The Bills CAN be succussful in Buffalo under new ownership in my opinion.

[Albany,n.y.]

It is not just economics. Teams can be built without breaking the bank, & in fact Danial Snyder has PROVEN breaking the bank will not buy you a winner. The SAD FACT is that at 90 years old, Ralph is not as sharp as he was at 50 or 60. He is making decisions using a 90 year old brain. At the VERY LEAST, he has impared memory at 90 years old. He probably FORGOT how MAD he was at Jauron for some of the games Jauron CAUSED the Bills to lose. Who knows just how senile Ralph is at 90? The Bills CAN be succussful in Buffalo under new ownership in my opinion.

You have nothing to back up your statements about Ralph. Are you his f'n doctor?

I am so sick of the Ralph is senile posts. He is not senile. If you don't undrestand this then, YOU are the one with the mental problem, not Ralph.

Ralph has been a cheap bastard his whole life. Earlier he was a middle aged cheap bastard. Now he is an old cheap bastard. It has nothing to do with his mental capacities, which put against the "Ralph is senile" posters are superior to every one of them.

[Tortured Soul]

Can you please cite a statistic that shows the Bills do not have the income to compete? Thanks.

[Alphadawg7]

I'll gladly take all your emotional responses! Go ahead and fire away. But in a quieter time, when the anger and frustration we all feel subsides, when we dare to let logic enter the conversation, the bottom line is that the Buffalo Bills do not bring in enough money to fund a Super Bowl winner.

 

We are unhappy when Winfield, Williams, Clements and others are due for a big contract and our team let's them leave. We hate it when top free agents are never signed by the Bills, especially when they end up as opponents in our division.

The top GMs and coaches are never hired by Mr. Wilson and that often means we cannnot win games where coaching is the deciding factor.

 

So each year we hope and dream that the planets will line up and we will be one of those one year wonder teams who win games they shouldn't, get more than their share of lucky calls and bounces, and overachieves in their play. When it doesn't happen. we start blaming owners, staff and players. Yes, they fail to realize the success we hope for, but the culprit is the bottom line. How can we be so deluded to think that we can spend the bucks that the Patriots, Cowboys and other rich organizations do, when Ralph doesn't have anything close to their revenue coming in?

 

Of course, it's easy to be a fan and say he should do it for the community and people who support his team. But while it is easy to say, there are very few business people who would actually spend more than what is financially expedient of the money received from their (cash cow) NFL franchise. I'll bet I have accused Mr. Wilson of being cheap a hundred times over the years. But deep down, I know he is not the problem. The decline of major corporations, population and economic prosperity in Buffalo is the reason behind it all. I have spent thousands on season and game tickets, team gear, etc. but the Bills don't "owe me" anything. Each year I get to decide whether I want to pay for the product or not. Whether I want to be frustrated or not. I am still going to be a fan of the Bills next year, even though I'll hate it if they have a bad season. But when I think it through logically, there are no villains involved; just the economics in my beloved city.

 

 

I dont know about all your theories in your post...but the one thing you did get right is that Wilson is no where near as cheap as posters want to say he his. Need proof? Look at the contracts of Kelsay, Denney, Walker, Dockery, Evans, Stroud, Parrish, Mitchell, etc.

 

You can question what players the money is spent on (again, not Ralphs call) but you can not question his willingness to spend money.

 

For the record, he was SMART in not over paying clements as clements demanded and got a contract way above his actual ability as a corner. I would have been ticked off if we gave Clements the same horrible contract SF gave him.

 

I would have like to have kept Winfield, but we had Clements developing and at the time Winfield wanted more than he was worth too, and quite frrankly, he just didnt make enough plays at corner. Sure he was a good tackler, but he could barely intercept the ball even if you handed it to him. So, he was seen as expendable based on his play to THAT point and the fact Clements was becoming a top corner at the time.

 

What we need is a full time GM who can evaluate talent...Pioli is still out there, why on earth we are not talking to this guy is beyond me.

[Flbillsfan#1]

You have nothing to back up your statements about Ralph. Are you his f'n doctor?

I am so sick of the Ralph is senile posts. He is not senile. If you don't undrestand this then, YOU are the one with the mental problem, not Ralph.

Ralph has been a cheap bastard his whole life. Earlier he was a middle aged cheap bastard. Now he is an old cheap bastard. It has nothing to do with his mental capacities, which put against the "Ralph is senile" posters are superior to every one of them.

You can ask ANY Doctor. The FACT is that at age 90, the brain does not function as it did at 50 or 60. People at age 90 have short term memory loss at the VERY LEAST, & most have diminished mental capacity. This is a SAD reality of life.

[Jerry Jabber]

Chris Benoit was 40 and had the brain of an 85 year old with dimentia.

 

I think Ralph has good intentions, but doesn't make the right decisions. He's scared of getting burned by a GM & a coach, which is why he goes on the cheap side.

[BuffaloBill]

I'll gladly take all your emotional responses! Go ahead and fire away. But in a quieter time, when the anger and frustration we all feel subsides, when we dare to let logic enter the conversation, the bottom line is that the Buffalo Bills do not bring in enough money to fund a Super Bowl winner.

 

 

Let’s bring some facts to the table rather than unsupported words. You can argue the source (Forbes and USA Today) or that the information is inaccurate but here is how the Bills stack up as a business (all based on 2007 data - 2008 is not available yet):

 

• The Bills had the seventh highest operating profit among the 32 teams. They made $34.6MM only $300K less than the 19-0 superbowl losing Cheatriots. Not surprisingly Washington and Dallas were numbers one and two respectively.
  
• In 2007 - the Bills were actually had the 4th highest player payroll in the league (you are reading that correctly). This stat is perhaps a bit misleading as teams often go up and down dramatically from one year to the next. Over an extended period of years the Bills payroll tends to be in the lower 3rd quartile or the better paying end of the final quartile of the league. Keep in mind this is somewhat influenced by player incentives (probowls, playing time, individual achievements, etc) arguably much of this type of money was left on the table given that the Bills do not have superstars on their roster.
  
• The Bills are the 27th most valuable franchise in the NFL.
  
• Ralph chooses not to sell naming rights to the stadium - let's be conservative and say this leaves a million in op profit on the table each year. This money would have made them the 5th most profitable team in the league in 2007. If they received a really good (but realistic) deal and got $3mm per year deal they would have jumped up to 4th.
  

Also keep in mind that all of the above are numbers that were recorded before the Bills inked the Toronto deal.

 

I cannot deny that the Bills profit is favorably influenced because they have no stadium debt. However, I believe the NFL may look twice at the practice of taking on this kind of burden given the problems it is causing with other teams. Perhaps the recent economy has caused them to realize there is a limit to the size of the pot of gold at the end of the sponsorship rainbow.

 

I also cannot deny that one year of data does not make a trend. However, having looked at this issue before to determine if I wanted to put a post out there about it I am confident when I say by NFL standards the Bills are a financially sound team. Not spectacular but steady in terms of their ability to turn a profit.

 

One might say that the Bills can not only afford a Superbowl roster but the brain trust at One Bills Drive might be better business people than they get credit for. Selection of coaches is another issue altogether.

[BuffaloBill]

Can you please cite a statistic that shows the Bills do not have the income to compete? Thanks.

see my post

[No QB - No Bueno]

Moneyball

[San-O]

Let’s bring some facts to the table rather than unsupported words. You can argue the source (Forbes and USA Today) or that the information is inaccurate but here is how the Bills stack up as a business (all based on 2007 data - 2008 is not available yet):

 

• The Bills had the seventh highest operating profit among the 32 teams. They made $34.6MM only $300K less than the 19-0 superbowl losing Cheatriots. Not surprisingly Washington and Dallas were numbers one and two respectively.
  
• In 2007 - the Bills were actually had the 4th highest player payroll in the league (you are reading that correctly). This stat is perhaps a bit misleading as teams often go up and down dramatically from one year to the next. Over an extended period of years the Bills payroll tends to be in the lower 3rd quartile or the better paying end of the final quartile of the league. Keep in mind this is somewhat influenced by player incentives (probowls, playing time, individual achievements, etc) arguably much of this type of money was left on the table given that the Bills do not have superstars on their roster.
  
• The Bills are the 27th most valuable franchise in the NFL.
  
• Ralph chooses not to sell naming rights to the stadium - let's be conservative and say this leaves a million in op profit on the table each year. This money would have made them the 5th most profitable team in the league in 2007. If they received a really good (but realistic) deal and got $3mm per year deal they would have jumped up to 4th.
  

Also keep in mind that all of the above are numbers that were recorded before the Bills inked the Toronto deal.

 

I cannot deny that the Bills profit is favorably influenced because they have no stadium debt. However, I believe the NFL may look twice at the practice of taking on this kind of burden given the problems it is causing with other teams. Perhaps the recent economy has caused them to realize there is a limit to the size of the pot of gold at the end of the sponsorship rainbow.

 

I also cannot deny that one year of data does not make a trend. However, having looked at this issue before to determine if I wanted to put a post out there about it I am confident when I say by NFL standards the Bills are a financially sound team. Not spectacular but steady in terms of their ability to turn a profit.

 

One might say that the Bills can not only afford a Superbowl roster but the brain trust at One Bills Drive might be better business people than they get credit for. Selection of coaches is another issue altogether.

 

 

Nice post.

 

With the sale of the Toronto games I assume, the 2008 Bills were valued at $855 Mil. putting them # 14 I believe,

and increasing in value a very high 11 % over 2007.

 

Ol' Ralphy made a nice buck selling the Toronto game, and also increased the total value in doing so it would seem.

[H2o]

That's why the revenue sharing was implimented, to "even the playing field". The larger market teams share some of their revenue. We could do just fine if we would cough up some dough on quality players until we get near the actual salary cap number.

[BuffaloBill]

Nice post.

 

With the sale of the Toronto games I assume, the 2008 Bills were valued at $855 Mil. putting them # 14 I believe,

and increasing in value a very high 11 % over 2007.

 

Ol' Ralphy made a nice buck selling the Toronto game, and also increased the total value in doing so it would seem.

 

 

Yeah, the Toronto games are a financial sweetheart arrangement for the Bills. However, if the Bills continue to suck on the field I wonder if ticket sales up north of the border drop like a stone in water. While the on the field product leaves much to be desired, old Ralph and crew know how to make the best of their small market from a business perspective. From this standpoint other teams could learn much from the Bills.

[keepthefaith]

I'll gladly take all your emotional responses! Go ahead and fire away. But in a quieter time, when the anger and frustration we all feel subsides, when we dare to let logic enter the conversation, the bottom line is that the Buffalo Bills do not bring in enough money to fund a Super Bowl winner.

 

We are unhappy when Winfield, Williams, Clements and others are due for a big contract and our team let's them leave. We hate it when top free agents are never signed by the Bills, especially when they end up as opponents in our division.

The top GMs and coaches are never hired by Mr. Wilson and that often means we cannnot win games where coaching is the deciding factor.

 

So each year we hope and dream that the planets will line up and we will be one of those one year wonder teams who win games they shouldn't, get more than their share of lucky calls and bounces, and overachieves in their play. When it doesn't happen. we start blaming owners, staff and players. Yes, they fail to realize the success we hope for, but the culprit is the bottom line. How can we be so deluded to think that we can spend the bucks that the Patriots, Cowboys and other rich organizations do, when Ralph doesn't have anything close to their revenue coming in?

 

Of course, it's easy to be a fan and say he should do it for the community and people who support his team. But while it is easy to say, there are very few business people who would actually spend more than what is financially expedient of the money received from their (cash cow) NFL franchise. I'll bet I have accused Mr. Wilson of being cheap a hundred times over the years. But deep down, I know he is not the problem. The decline of major corporations, population and economic prosperity in Buffalo is the reason behind it all. I have spent thousands on season and game tickets, team gear, etc. but the Bills don't "owe me" anything. Each year I get to decide whether I want to pay for the product or not. Whether I want to be frustrated or not. I am still going to be a fan of the Bills next year, even though I'll hate it if they have a bad season. But when I think it through logically, there are no villains involved; just the economics in my beloved city.

 

Investing $800 million in the Bills would be very difficult to justify. Ralph has the advantage over the high revenue teams of a much lower investment in the team. His ROI is pretty good and the team generates sufficient cash to operate without debt. Logic would say that if you're committed to a cash to cap player philosophy, then you would make the necessary investment in coaches and personnel people to get the most out of the player talent that you can afford. The Bills have not done that. Less talented players + average (or less) coaching + mediocre personnel decisions = 7-9 or less.

[BillsVet]

Ralph can't compete because he doesn't spend money where he should, not because he doesn't have enough. If he would stop playing GM and putting or retaining people in positions they have no business being in, he'd find success.

 

Forbes NFL Revenue 2007

 

According to this list 10 of the top 16 teams failed to make the playoffs. Arguably the best team in the NFL, the NYG, were 17th. Three teams below Buffalo made the playoffs, so overall revenue isn't that much of a hinderance to being a good team.

 

The difference between winners and losers is having personnel executives who know what they're doing. Buffalo doesn't have a GM, and their owner is trying to be the GM. That's why this team isn't successful. Period.

[Chuckknox]

Is this Ralph's daughter posting this? Or maybe Russ?

[Tcali]

Can you please cite a statistic that shows the Bills do not have the income to compete? Thanks.

For 100,000/yr I will go on the sidelines and make smart clock management decisions for the Bills. Are you listening Ralph?

Maybe Schobel can take a pay cut from 8.7 to 8.6 million to cover the costs since he is only worth 8.6 million at this stage of his career.

[billnutinphoenix]

Paying players...okay

Paying coaches....a whole other story...

[BuffaloBill]

Investing $800 million in the Bills would be very difficult to justify. Ralph has the advantage over the high revenue teams of a much lower investment in the team. His ROI is pretty good and the team generates sufficient cash to operate without debt. Logic would say that if you're committed to a cash to cap player philosophy, then you would make the necessary investment in coaches and personnel people to get the most out of the player talent that you can afford. The Bills have not done that. Less talented players + average (or less) coaching + mediocre personnel decisions = 7-9 or less.

 

 

I argree with what you say if you look at team ownership from a pure cash flow standpoint - on this basis it would be very hard to justify the investment. One helluva multiple on earnings. However, keep in mind the billionaire boys club that buys sports teams are far more likely to park their cash based on ego and not on business. There is some argument to say the escalation in franchise value does with time make the return prospects interesting. However you would also have to look at it vs. the trade off of parking your spare $800 milion in another investment.

 

Ralph appears to also not look at his position as a break even situation because he could arguably spend most, if not all the operating profit on improved coaching and scouting.

 

Cash to the cap is probably a good model because it protects the team from carrying a lot of dead cap money in any given year. Also Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder have proven that you can't simply buy great (i.e winning) teams.