Following the passing of Ralph Wilson, the Buffalo Bills are now owned by his widow Mary Wilson. The Wilson family has made no secret of their intention to sell the team, as the inheritance tax makes it impossible for them to have the liquidity to pay the tax and keep control of the asset. As such the next few months will be interesting as various potential owners step to the table.
Early rumours have had Boston Bruins’ owner Jeremy Jacobs, and New Jersey based rocker Jon Bon Jovi as bidders for the team. However yesterday another famous Billionaire put his hat into the ring, as Donald Trump has declared his intention to put forth a bid to buy the Bills.
“I’m going to give it a heavy shot,” Trump told Tim Graham of the Buffalo News on Monday. “I would love to do it, and if I can do it I’m keeping it in Buffalo.”
“I live in New York, and it’s easier for me to go to Buffalo than any other place,” Trump said. “Where am I going to move it, some place on the other side of the country, where I have to travel for five hours?”
With his intentions to keep the team in Buffalo, this will likely be seen as good news by Bills fans. Jon Bon Jovi is believed to be interested in moving the team to Toronto.
“I have a track record that’s pretty much unparalleled,” Trump said, “but that doesn’t mean that I pay stupid prices. Somebody could come out and bid through the roof for the Bills, something crazy. In which case, I’m sorry I can’t do anything about that. You have to be sane. But maybe there’s not going to be any other bids. You never know with these things.”
However, how other owners will feel about welcoming Trump is another question. Trump was the owner of the New Jersey Generals in the USFL a league that famously launched an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL in the 1980s. Whether any residual resentment comes from that, and the raising of contracts that the competition between the leagues created remains to be seen.
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