Buffalo Bills–2014: 1-0 – WK2 vs Miami – Pegulas reach agreement to buy team

[Beerz]

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/sto...-paul-allen-stan-kroenke-stephen-ross/slide/3

If this is accurate, Pegula will be the 6th richest owner in the NFL...

That is nice.

It made too much sense for him to not win the bid. I gained a lot of respect for Mr. Wilson, as it is clear there were assurances in place to keep the team in Buffalo.

5th.

Malcolm Glazer died.

 

[tsujimoto74]

The Sabres might suck right now, but the sun is coming up on the horizon.

I feel like the sun is still not quite fully up for the Bills.



I haven't been this excited and proud to be a Buffalo sports fan in a long, long, long time.

This! And if the future of the Sabres/Bills with Pegula at the helm is anywhere near as bright as it looks like it could be, the dude will be a Buffalo legend. His ownership would be a watershed moment for both teams.

 

[Dubi Doo]

[/B]

This! And if the future of the Sabres/Bills with Pegula at the helm is anywhere near as bright as it looks like it could be, the dude will be a Buffalo legend. His ownership would be a watershed moment for both teams.

Pegula is cementing his legacy in Buffalo's history. As Ice Cube would say, Today's a good day.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

@TheTorontoSun

A peek at Wednesday's Toronto Sun sports cover. #BonJovi #Bills #NFL #Toronto http://www.torontosun.com/2014/09/0...la-strike-tentative-deal-to-buy-buffalo-bills

 

[ZeroPT*]

I'm not even from Buffalo and I'm not a huge football fan but Pegula is making me want to do both. God I love the man with a passion. Give him the keys to the city!!

 

[Tsujimoto]

Maybe One Bills Drive is on the Shale!

Pegula pulling a fast one!

I'm still waiting for him to pull down all the scaffolding around the Harbor Center to reveal the gas well they've been building in secret all along.

 

[Tsujimoto]

I'm not seeing how this fits into Hockey Heaven?

Winter Classic at the new downtown stadium every year?

 

[LaFontaineToMogilny]

If I was Terrence Pegula I would start dressing like the Monopoly guy and just prance around town

 

[Paxon]

I'm watching the game finally, as I was in Allegany, only able to catch some of it on the radio. I think EJ looks fairly solid so far (3rd Q's almost done), but it's disappointing that he wasn't able to come through with a big play, like that deep throw to Watkins after Sammy had beaten the coverage. His placement still needs work but he seems to be better with not checking down as much. That interception was irritating because it looked to me like he could have had the sure first down over the middle.

The running game is on point. Great mix between Spiller, Fred, and Dixon. The line looked stout on both sides of the ball. Our defensive backfield got abused a bit, and some untimely slips on the grass really hurt us.

If I was Terrence Pegula I would start dressing like the Monopoly guy and just prance around town

Now that he owns the Sabres, Bills, Bandits, and Amerks, he does have a monopoly on Buffalo sports. Just needs to buy the Bisons...

 

[TehDoak]

I'm still waiting for him to pull down all the scaffolding around the Harbor Center to reveal the gas well they've been building in secret all along.

You can't spell HARBORCENTER without A O R....those letters ALSO in Propane

 

[26CornerBlitz]

@JohnKryk

My in-depth report on end of #Bills sale, w/ 3 likeliest reasons Pegulas bid $1.4B + #BonJovi/Tor group post-mortem: http://www.torontosun.com/2014/09/09/the-great-toronto-threat-to-buy-bills-is-dead …

 

[whiplash]

You can't spell HARBORCENTER without A O R....those letters ALSO in Propane

Propane to light the Bills on fire! 2-0 after this weekend, 11-5 on the season. Mark it

 

[Ben Grimm]

@JohnKryk

My in-depth report on end of #Bills sale, w/ 3 likeliest reasons Pegulas bid $1.4B + #BonJovi/Tor group post-mortem: http://www.torontosun.com/2014/09/09/the-great-toronto-threat-to-buy-bills-is-dead …

I realize NFL teams are very valuable, but do you guys think the Bills are worth this much?

 

[johnjm22]

I realize NFL teams are very valuable, but do you guys think the Bills are worth this much?

Considering the Clippers got 2 Billion, I'd say yes.

All NFL franchises are extremely valuable, and they're rarely available for sale.

 

[TehDoak]

I realize NFL teams are very valuable, but do you guys think the Bills are worth this much?

Depending on who you believe, there was another bidder supposedly who went up to 1.35 billion. Teams are worth what people are willing to pay for them, regardless of we "think" of it.

This sale will likely drive valuations of other franchises up a bit IMHO. They are instantly profitable due to the crazy TV contract.

 

[SackTastic]

Depending on who you believe, there was another bidder supposedly who went up to 1.35 billion. Teams are worth what people are willing to pay for them, regardless of we "think" of it.

This sale will likely drive valuations of other franchises up a bit IMHO. They are instantly profitable due to the crazy TV contract.

This.

An NFL franchise is almost a lock to never lose value, and also almost guaranteed to be profitable year after year.

The risk/reward needle is almost all reward, so that's going to make them insanely valuable.

 

[fing0rz]

I realize NFL teams are very valuable, but do you guys think the Bills are worth this much?

Most of the money comes in from TV contract and revenue sharing.

The only money owners get from tickets directly is luxury boxes. The rest is split evenly.

I am not sure how merchandise is split.

This means most are relatively even on what they make (which is why people like jerry hates small market teams since he's all about money)

Also the bills are one of the last few teams that are not a corporate team. They were built and survive on the love of the game and city. That is what Pegula paid for.

 

[TehDoak]

This.

An NFL franchise is almost a lock to never lose value, and also almost guaranteed to be profitable year after year.

The risk/reward needle is almost all reward, so that's going to make them insanely valuable.

Not to take this on a tangent, but a NFL franchise (or sports team) really isn't a great long term (i.e.20-30 year+ investment)

#1. NFL popularity is near an all time high. NFL is top dog in the sports world....for now. This will change over time. So essentially, you would be buying "high". It likely will not continue to grow at the same rate in the next 20 years as it has grown over the last 20
#2. The ROI on a 1.4 billion investment for the Bills really isn't great. The bills cleared Approx 80 million last year. But, when you consider that a good investment banker could easily get you 10-12% ROI on a stock portfolio, getting 80-90 million yearly on a 1.4 billion up front investment isn't great.
#3. For the bills, the stadium issue is very real. Even with the state/city picks up half and provides the land for free, that realistically is a 400-600 million upcoming cost. And sure, a new stadium will up revenue, and likely affect his other holdings in downtown Buffalo positively....its still a huge expense to consider.

I certainly don't think Terry will "lose" money, but, if he was looking to make more $, there are better/safer investments out there. But, Buffalo sports is the guy (and his families) passion, so he's following his heart.

 

[johnjm22]

Not to take this on a tangent, but a NFL franchise (or sports team) really isn't a great long term (i.e.20-30 year+ investment)

#2. The ROI on a 1.4 billion investment for the Bills really isn't great. The bills cleared Approx 80 million last year. But, when you consider that a good investment banker could easily get you 10-12% ROI on a stock portfolio, getting 80-90 million yearly on a 1.4 billion up front investment isn't great.

You're not factoring in the value of the franchise itself. Even if NFL growth slows considerably, team valuations will still be considerably higher with each passing year.

The Buffalo Bills are a piece of property on the asset side of Terry's balance sheet. Hypothetically, if he wanted to sell the team 10 years from now, he'd get considerably more than the 1.4B he paid for it.

Not to take this on a tangent, but a NFL franchise (or sports team) really isn't a great long term (i.e.20-30 year+ investment)

Donald Sterling bought the Clippers for 12.5M in 1981. They just sold for 2B. That's a pretty good long term investment.

 

[Paxon]

Donald Sterling bought the Clippers for 12.5M in 1981. They just sold for 2B. That's a pretty good long term investment.

1981 and 2014 are completely different. Lucrative TV deals completely changed the value of sports franchises. The NFL is about to begin a downward slope. I wouldn't feel at all rosy about its future in 30 years.

 

[whiplash]

1981 and 2014 are completely different. Lucrative TV deals completely changed the value of sports franchises. The NFL is about to begin a downward slope. I wouldn't feel at all rosy about its future in 30 years.

Yeah. Pretty sure the Clippers would have to sell for 116 billion dollars for Balmer to get the same ROI as Sterling did (roughly, and adjusting for inflation)...

The threshold has been reached for all sports. Yes, teams will almost always be sold for more than they're bought but the days of turning $25,000 ($200000 in today's terms) in to $1.4bil via a sports team are over.

 

[Husko]

Saying it's on a downward slope implies teams will sell for less in the future, though. That's not true at all. No NFL team will ever sell for less than a billion again. The only way that would happen is if the NFL "bubble" collapsed in the same way the housing market did. Only way that will happen is if suddenly there's a shortage of billionaires that want to buy NFL teams. That's not going to happen. As long as supply is as low as can be (one team up for sale every 10-20 years?) all demand (amount of billionaires who want to buy a team) has to do is remain at about 2 and we'll have sale prices continue to go up. That is why it's a can't-miss investment.

 

[MayDay]

You're not factoring in the value of the franchise itself. Even if NFL growth slows considerably, team valuations will still be considerably higher with each passing year.

The Buffalo Bills are a piece of property on the asset side of Terry's balance sheet. Hypothetically, if he wanted to sell the team 10 years from now, he'd get considerably more than the 1.4B he paid for it.


Donald Sterling bought the Clippers for 12.5M in 1981. They just sold for 2B. That's a pretty good long term investment.

Maybe. Though it's hard to imagine that the exponential increase in NFL franchise values over the last half-century can continue indefinitely. Nothing can continue to increase at that rate forever. They will have to level off at some point, or at least a stable rate of growth more in line with inflation.

As stated, the NFL is pretty much saturated in the USA. It's hard to imagine it being much more popular than it is now, and therefore worth much more than it is now.

I think the NFL knows this too, and is aware that their prospects for future growth lie mostly in expanding their global brand. Whether that involves actually putting teams in London and other places, I don't know, but for the NFL to grow much more it needs to tap the global market because it can't grow much more at home. Look at the English Premier League - it has huge global revenue streams (from TV rights and merchandise) and brand awareness for its teams without having to actually put teams overseas.

 

[johnjm22]

1981 and 2014 are completely different. Lucrative TV deals completely changed the value of sports franchises. The NFL is about to begin a downward slope. I wouldn't feel at all rosy about its future in 30 years.

Yeah. Pretty sure the Clippers would have to sell for 116 billion dollars for Balmer to get the same ROI as Sterling did (roughly, and adjusting for inflation)...

The threshold has been reached for all sports. Yes, teams will almost always be sold for more than they're bought but the days of turning $25,000 ($200000 in today's terms) in to $1.4bil via a sports team are over.

I agree that the bubbling rate of franchise valuations will slow, but I still think there will be significant growth.

I pointed out the Clippers as an example to demonstrate that many major professional sports franchises have in fact been very good long term investments.

Even in sport like Baseball, whose popularity has and attendance have probably been flat, valuations continue to grow. The Dodgers were purchased in 2004 for 430M, and sold 8 years later for 2000M.

 

[johnjm22]

Maybe. Though it's hard to imagine that the exponential increase in NFL franchise values over the last half-century can continue indefinitely. Nothing can continue to increase at that rate forever. They will have to level off at some point, or at least a stable rate of growth more in line with inflation.

As stated, the NFL is pretty much saturated in the USA. It's hard to imagine it being much more popular than it is now, and therefore worth much more than it is now.

I think the NFL knows this too, and is aware that their prospects for future growth lie mostly in expanding their global brand. Whether that involves actually putting teams in London and other places, I don't know, but for the NFL to grow much more it needs to tap the global market because it can't grow much more at home. Look at the English Premier League - it has huge global revenue streams (from TV rights and merchandise) and brand awareness for its teams without having to actually put teams overseas.

How long has the MLB been saturated in the USA? And yet revenues and valuations continue to grow.

The NFL's current TV deals will expire in about 7 years, and unless the leagues popularity suddenly collapses, or no one watches regular TV anymore, you can bet that the new deals they sign will be absolutely MASSIVE.

The United States will have 100 million more people in it 30 years from now.

The NFL's international broadcast outlets have increased by 30% in the last 3 years alone. The NFL is seeking 25B dollars in annual revenue by 2027. Even if they come up significantly short of that goal, the revenue increase would be huge considering the leagues current annual revenues are about 9M.

Unless there's a world war, a mega economic collapse, or an apocalyptic environmental disaster, the Buffalo Bills could almost certainly be sold for more than 1.4B 10 years from now.