Menu
Franchises

Bills Receive Three Bids For Team Before Deadline; Golisano Surprisingly Out

Morgan Stanley "received only three bids in total" for the Bills by yesterday's 5:00pm ET deadline -- Sabres Owner Terry Pegula, Donald Trump and the Toronto-based group led by Jon Bon Jovi, MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum and the Rogers family, according to a source cited by John Kryk of QMI AGENCY. Former Sabres Owner Tom Golisano "did not submit a bid" by the deadline, which came as "a total surprise." Morgan Stanley, which is overseeing the Bills sale, had reportedly been "combing Wall Street all summer to try to add cash-flush billionaires to the bidding ranks" (QMI AGENCY, 7/29). In N.Y., Kosman & Weiss cite sources as saying that Pegula bid more than $1B, making it "likely the team will attract a record sales price for an NFL team." The previous high for an NFL franchise is the $1.1B Stephen Ross paid for the Dolphins in '08 (N.Y. POST, 7/30). Trump on Monday said, "I'll put a bid in and we'll see." He said he "would be good" in the role, but added the chances "are very, very unlikely" he actually lands the team. Trump: "I'm not going to do something totally stupid. Maybe just a little bit stupid, but not totally stupid" ("On The Record," Fox News, 7/28). ESPN's Adam Caplan said, "This just starts the progress here on the bidding system. The fact of the matter is a lot of people around the league think Pegula will eventually get it, but there are a lot of things that have to go down here for him to get in it." Caplan noted Pegula has "done great things locally" and he is "probably going to be the favorite” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 7/30).

IT'S MY LIFE
: SPORTS ON EARTH's Greg Hanlon notes disappointing crowds "compelled the NFL to suspend" the Bills in Toronto series this year, but fans "worry that both the Bon Jovi group and the NFL would want to increase their profits by decamping" to Toronto. Those suspicions "were stoked by recent news" that Rogers Communications Deputy Chair Edward Rogers "privately commissioned a feasibility study of new stadium sites in Toronto." The study was "undertaken 18 months ago, before Rogers had joined forces formally with Bon Jovi and Tanenbaum." However, that threat has "led to a groundswell of anti-Bon Jovi sentiment in Buffalo, with more than 216 bars, businesses, bands and DJs declaring themselves to be 'Bon Jovi Free Zones.'" In an attempt to "assuage the locals, the Bon Jovi group announced recently that it had no intention of moving the team." But Western New Yorkers, "scarred from decades of having their beloved institutions ripped away by non-local corporations, aren't buying it." They believe the group is "simply trying to abide by the lease's mandate that the buyer not publicly state an intention to move the team" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 7/30). In N.Y., Reeves Wiedeman writes under the header, "Jon Bon Jovi Is The Most Hated Man In Buffalo." Bon Jovi has "no great love for the Bills: He's a Giants fan." But he was a founding owner of the AFL Soul, and has "maintained a long-standing interest in owning an NFL team" (NEW YORK magazine, 7/28 issue).

STRAIGHT OUTTA HOGWARTS: The future of the Bills was brought up on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last night by a surprise source -- actor Daniel Radcliffe. He told a story about being in Toronto and having trouble getting a visa to enter the U.S. Radcliffe said he eventually "drove to Buffalo and we got through the border at Buffalo." Radcliffe: "All I know about Buffalo is the Bills are there. That's all I know about American football. So the only conversation I could come up with to this lovely woman who was helping us was, 'So the Bills might be going to Toronto, I hear.' And she just gave this incredibly serious, sad reaction to my small talk. She said, 'Yeah, I really don’t know what this town would do if they ever leave.'" Kimmel said, "If the Bills go to Toronto, we're going to war with Canada" ("Jimmy Kimmel Live," ABC, 7/29).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2014/07/30/Franchises/Bills.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2014/07/30/Franchises/Bills.aspx

CLOSE