i feel sorry for the the Bills fans if they lose there team. it seems that the new CBA is just making it impossable for the Bills to stay in buffalo, and compete at the same time.
Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson recently said the team's future here could be in jeopardy. We decided to look into how serious that prospect still might be.
When Wilson speaks Western New York listens. And when he recently questioned the long-term stability of the team in the area, local leaders lined up to help.
"This is a call to arms," Erie County Executive Joel Giambra said last month.
Wilson said his recent concern was caused by a bargaining agreement his fellow NFL owners struck with players earlier this year. Wilson said it could cause small market teams like the Bills to "lose money" next season and in future years.
Several prominent figures including Governor Pataki, Senator Chuck Schumer and even Buffalo-born NBC News Journalist Tim Russert interceded on his behalf with the NFL commissioner. Afterward the commissioner gave Wilson what he said he needed -- a coveted seat on the NFL committee that will work out the smaller specifics of that new revenue-sharing agreement.
But was Wilson painting an entirely accurate picture of his team's finances?
"There should be ample room there for a profit," said Michael Ozanian, a senior business writer for Forbes Magazine.
Each year Forbes evaluates, as best it can, the finances of pro-football teams, most of which are private businesses and do not open their books to the public.
Wilson bought the bills in 1959 for $25,000. And based on Forbes' figures from 2005, the Buffalo Bills are now worth $708 million.
While the team is only the 25th most valuable out of 32 in the league, when it comes to actual income after the teams pays its bills, the team is 14th in the league, making just over $36 million a year, according to Forbes.
Reporter: "Do you believe that Mr. Wilson is in fact losing money, or needs to lose money?"
Ozanian: "I don't see how that is possible unless he pays exorbitant signing bonuses."
The Bills would not discuss their finances with us; however, Wilson recently said he's just asking to "break even."
The new league agreement forces the owners to share more of the league's profits with players.
The problem for Wilson?
Bigger market teams are making more and more money by building new, bigger stadiums. That means players automatically make more money no matter what team they play for.
"Every new stadium costs the Buffalo Bills money that we don't get," Wilson said.
But Wilson has made bleak predictions before. In 1971 he suggested he might move the team to Seattle, unless the county built the team a new, 80,000- seat, open-air stadium. Two years later he got one.
In 1998 Wilson said the team could not be financially competitive if the county did not add more luxury suites to the stadium. The county added the suites, and agreed to give the teams millions of tax dollars each year to pay for things like security and stadium improvements.
Then-county legislator Al DeBenedetti opposed the agreement.
"It's never been a question of whether Ralph makes or loses money," DeBenedetti said. "It's a question of how much money he's going to make."
But this time Wilson has made it clear to political leaders that he is not asking for money, rather their help in getting what he calls "fair treatment" from the league.
"This isn't a matter of making money for the Buffalo Bills," Wilson said last month. "This is a matter of surviving."
Some have suggested other ways Wilson could be more financially competitive. In 1998 the county also gave him the naming rights to what was then Rich Stadium. Instead of selling those rights to a corporation, like other teams, Wilson named the Bills stadium after himself.
"They would like me to sell the naming of the stadium," Wilson said April 10. "But I don't think I can get enough money to buy enough seats for you and your family to a game."
Ozanian said research done by Forbes suggests Wilson could get far more money for the stadium naming rights.
Reporter: "How much money do you think he could make off selling those naming rights?"
Ozanian: "I think a team like the bills, given their small market, would likely generate between two and four million dollars a season."
Dick Zolonowski, who has been with the Bills Booster Club for decades, said Wilson is widely admired among bills fans for keeping the team in Western New York, especially when storied franchises like the Colts and Browns bolted for better deals in other cities.
"If it weren't for Ralph Wilson, I think the bills would probably be in L.A. now," Zolonowski said.
Wilson recently made his intentions on selling the team quite clear.
"I'm not selling the club," he said. "I've been [here] 46 years and I'm going to the wall with the club."
Wilson is also credited for keeping ticket prices the lowest in the league.
"He's stayed by us all of the time, even when times are bad," Zolonowksi said of Wilson. "I've supported him all along. I think he's a helluva guy."
But Wilson recently suggested he's worried about his successor and whether the league's new bargaining agreement will prevent whoever follows him from keeping the team here.
Reporter: "Your prediction -- the Bills, will they stay or will they leave?"
Ozanian: "The Bills aren't going anywhere. They're staying in Buffalo."
For now, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agrees.
Reporter: "Do you believe the Bills will stay in Buffalo for at least the near future? Is that your indication?"
Tagliabue: "Yes. I don't see any reason to question that."
The Bills still have seven years left on their stadium lease, but can break it if they pay a $12-million penalty. However, the commissioner recently said the team has a unique relationship with its community, like the Packers in Green Bay, and that he would like to see that continue for years to come.
When Wilson speaks Western New York listens. And when he recently questioned the long-term stability of the team in the area, local leaders lined up to help.
"This is a call to arms," Erie County Executive Joel Giambra said last month.
Wilson said his recent concern was caused by a bargaining agreement his fellow NFL owners struck with players earlier this year. Wilson said it could cause small market teams like the Bills to "lose money" next season and in future years.
Several prominent figures including Governor Pataki, Senator Chuck Schumer and even Buffalo-born NBC News Journalist Tim Russert interceded on his behalf with the NFL commissioner. Afterward the commissioner gave Wilson what he said he needed -- a coveted seat on the NFL committee that will work out the smaller specifics of that new revenue-sharing agreement.
But was Wilson painting an entirely accurate picture of his team's finances?
"There should be ample room there for a profit," said Michael Ozanian, a senior business writer for Forbes Magazine.
Each year Forbes evaluates, as best it can, the finances of pro-football teams, most of which are private businesses and do not open their books to the public.
Wilson bought the bills in 1959 for $25,000. And based on Forbes' figures from 2005, the Buffalo Bills are now worth $708 million.
While the team is only the 25th most valuable out of 32 in the league, when it comes to actual income after the teams pays its bills, the team is 14th in the league, making just over $36 million a year, according to Forbes.
Reporter: "Do you believe that Mr. Wilson is in fact losing money, or needs to lose money?"
Ozanian: "I don't see how that is possible unless he pays exorbitant signing bonuses."
The Bills would not discuss their finances with us; however, Wilson recently said he's just asking to "break even."
The new league agreement forces the owners to share more of the league's profits with players.
The problem for Wilson?
Bigger market teams are making more and more money by building new, bigger stadiums. That means players automatically make more money no matter what team they play for.
"Every new stadium costs the Buffalo Bills money that we don't get," Wilson said.
But Wilson has made bleak predictions before. In 1971 he suggested he might move the team to Seattle, unless the county built the team a new, 80,000- seat, open-air stadium. Two years later he got one.
In 1998 Wilson said the team could not be financially competitive if the county did not add more luxury suites to the stadium. The county added the suites, and agreed to give the teams millions of tax dollars each year to pay for things like security and stadium improvements.
Then-county legislator Al DeBenedetti opposed the agreement.
"It's never been a question of whether Ralph makes or loses money," DeBenedetti said. "It's a question of how much money he's going to make."
But this time Wilson has made it clear to political leaders that he is not asking for money, rather their help in getting what he calls "fair treatment" from the league.
"This isn't a matter of making money for the Buffalo Bills," Wilson said last month. "This is a matter of surviving."
Some have suggested other ways Wilson could be more financially competitive. In 1998 the county also gave him the naming rights to what was then Rich Stadium. Instead of selling those rights to a corporation, like other teams, Wilson named the Bills stadium after himself.
"They would like me to sell the naming of the stadium," Wilson said April 10. "But I don't think I can get enough money to buy enough seats for you and your family to a game."
Ozanian said research done by Forbes suggests Wilson could get far more money for the stadium naming rights.
Reporter: "How much money do you think he could make off selling those naming rights?"
Ozanian: "I think a team like the bills, given their small market, would likely generate between two and four million dollars a season."
Dick Zolonowski, who has been with the Bills Booster Club for decades, said Wilson is widely admired among bills fans for keeping the team in Western New York, especially when storied franchises like the Colts and Browns bolted for better deals in other cities.
"If it weren't for Ralph Wilson, I think the bills would probably be in L.A. now," Zolonowski said.
Wilson recently made his intentions on selling the team quite clear.
"I'm not selling the club," he said. "I've been [here] 46 years and I'm going to the wall with the club."
Wilson is also credited for keeping ticket prices the lowest in the league.
"He's stayed by us all of the time, even when times are bad," Zolonowksi said of Wilson. "I've supported him all along. I think he's a helluva guy."
But Wilson recently suggested he's worried about his successor and whether the league's new bargaining agreement will prevent whoever follows him from keeping the team here.
Reporter: "Your prediction -- the Bills, will they stay or will they leave?"
Ozanian: "The Bills aren't going anywhere. They're staying in Buffalo."
For now, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue agrees.
Reporter: "Do you believe the Bills will stay in Buffalo for at least the near future? Is that your indication?"
Tagliabue: "Yes. I don't see any reason to question that."
The Bills still have seven years left on their stadium lease, but can break it if they pay a $12-million penalty. However, the commissioner recently said the team has a unique relationship with its community, like the Packers in Green Bay, and that he would like to see that continue for years to come.
