While nothing is on the market, the Buffalo Bills have started to consider the ramifications — both financial and political — of selling naming rights to a stadium named after a beloved owner.
In October, Bills President Russ Brandon said he expected to discuss the matter with the new ownership shortly.
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“We wouldn’t do it unless it was done the right way — Ralph’s name would still be in there,” he said.
Van Wagner Sports President Jeff Knapple, who has been consulting on naming-rights deals for more than 25 years, said Ralph Wilson Stadium could generate $5 million to $6 million annually for a naming-rights deal. A retrofitted stadium could yield $6 million to $8 million per year, he estimated.
“Naming rights still are an opportunity here,” Bruce Popko, Bills chief revenue officer, said inside the Bills’ corporate sponsorship end-zone suite. “We’ve had maybe a few quiet conversations, but nothing substantial. … Certainly, we’d have to figure out how to pay the proper amount of respect to Ralph Wilson’s legacy, which is considerable, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if we hadn’t thought about it.”
He noted that such a deal could be a big boost to the team’s bottom line.
“If we are around 20th in revenue now, that’s what gets us to 15th or 16th,” he said.
