Menu
Franchises

Slippery When Wet: Jon Bon Jovi's Toronto Group Ready To Drop Bills Bid?

Jon Bon Jovi and his Toronto backers "are reassessing whether even to continue in their pursuit" of the Bills, because their bid "has been on the rocks for weeks and no one within the group is optimistic they'll wind up buying the NFL team," according to sources cited by John Kryk of QMI AGENCY. The potential withdrawal "has nothing to do" with the announced departure of MLSE President & CEO Tim Leiweke, but rather "everything to do with (1) the group's limited bidding power with Bon Jovi in the lead, and (2) lingering doubts about whether the trust would sell the club to a group that continues to refuse to commit to keeping the Bills in Western New York long-term." Sources said that the Toronto group members -- Bon Jovi, MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum and Rogers Communications Deputy Chair Edward Rogers -- are "taking the next week or so to assess where their bid is at and to discuss what they could possibly do at this stage to mount a formidable, effective bid." Sources said that the group's maximum bid, which "is somewhere between" $1-1.2B, "isn't nearly enough to compete" with Sabres Owner and Bills bidder Terry Pegula. Bon Jovi, Tanenbaum and Rogers "know it." The group on Wednesday "cancelled a scheduled tour of Ralph Wilson Stadium" (QMI AGENCY, 8/21). Leiweke's reps insist that the "failure of the group’s bid for the Bills didn’t factor into the decision to leave MLSE next year" (TORONTO STAR, 8/22). FORBES' Mike Ozanian reported Pegula bid $890M for the Bills, while the Toronto group bid $820M and Donald Trump bid $809M (FORBES.com, 8/21).

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/2014/08/22/Franchises/Bills.aspx

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

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2014/08/22/Franchises/Bills.aspx

CLOSE