stuvian's Content - Page 140

Jerry Jones - thinks Bills unique .. should not leave Buffalo

stuvian replied to CorkScrewHill's topic in The Stadium Wall Archives

Jerry Jones cares nothing for Buffalo and its fans. As he cared nothing for the fans of the Chargers, Rams and Raiders whose relocations he profited handsomely from. If Legends cannot sell enough ads, sponsorships and seat licenses in Buffalo the Bills will face relocation. Jerry Jones is ruining the NFL as we know it. Dallas Cowboy fans know Jerry Jones as the egotistically meddlesome owner who has driven their once proud franchise into the ditch of mediocrity. But Jerry’s reach doesn’t end with his own team. Despite his squandering of the Cowboy’s on field legacy, he has had considerable influence on NFL business affairs. His lobbying ability within league circles is persuasive to the point that he is already in the NFL Hall of Fame. While his business acumen has not helped his team on the field, it has been notably effective in furthering his commercial interests. Jones and Patriots owner Bob Kraft are shareholders in fantasy football website Draft Kings. Fantasy sports is a cultural phenomenon enjoying the participation of nineteen percent of the American adult population aged nineteen or over. Formerly known as rotisserie league sports, participants can draft a team of players and compete for monetary prizes. The fantasy sports market is worth over twenty billion dollars worldwide. Jones’ investment in Draft Kings would not be noteworthy but for one exception. Draft Kings has since added a Sportsbook and Casino to it’s website. The NFL has long restricted players and owners from any association with sports gambling. As gambling has moved beyond the confines of Las Vegas and Atlantic City to mainstream society, no fewer than twenty two states have legalized sports betting. The risk of insiders influencing outcomes looms large. Gambling has successfully infiltrated big time sports throughout history. Having professional teams like the Raiders and Golden Knights in Las Vegas will only exacerbate the risk. NHL player Evander Kane is the latest professional athlete to be accused of allowing gambling to influence his performance. Association with gambling raises risks and concerns for the integrity of the game but it is Jones’ role in Legends Hospitality that poses a threat to the NFL and its small market teams. Since his purchase of the Cowboys, Jones has railed hard against the league’s traditional revenue sharing arrangements that see large market teams share revenue for luxury boxes, merchandising and parking with smaller markets teams. This arrangement has played a large part in competitive parity between large and small market teams. Buffalo Bills fans — photo by author Legends Hospitality is a partnership between Jones and the New York Yankees. Among its business lines is negotiating new stadium deals for professional sports teams including NFL franchises. Legends was the key player in the establishment of SoFi stadium in Los Angeles that now houses the Rams and Chargers. Central among the premises for new stadium deals is Jones’ original premise that each franchise stand alone as an independent business irrespective of market size, never to be subsidized by rival clubs. While it could easily be argued that the NFL’s return to the Los Angeles market was an inevitability, it has come at the expense of fanbases in St. Louis and San Diego. The Rams eventually settled a class action lawsuit on behalf of its St. Louis based Personal Seat License holders. The City of St. Louis has an active lawsuit against Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the NFL. Legends’ role in the Oakland Raiders relocation was pivotal as it was tasked with selling the seat licenses and sponsorships that were used to finance the new venue in Las Vegas. This activist role in relocation enriches Jones and Legends while watering down the NFL’s traditional revenue sharing model while maximizing sponsorship and stadium revenue solely for the host team. Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula retained Legends to handle the Bill’s negotiation with Erie County and the State of New York on a new stadium deal. Jerry Jones will see to it that his big market Cowboys won’t be subsidizing the small market Bills. As a former Bills season ticket holder, I see limited capacity in the Buffalo market for seat license and sponsorships that paid for SoFi and Allegiant stadiums in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, respectively. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is from Western New York. He has said all the right things about keeping the Bills in Buffalo. But Roger Goodell works for the owners, not the fans. As special as the Bills are to their loyal fan base, the only language the NFL understands is money. If the Raiders, Chargers and Rams had loyal fan bases, why would Buffalo think it is any different for the Bills? If Jerry Jones has his way, the Bills will leave Buffalo for a larger, more prosperous market. One that can afford luxury boxes and Personal Seat Licenses so that he and his big market pals can keep more of their coinage and count their lucre while the Bills faithful cry in their beer. Doing so would destroy one of the NFL’s best fan bases and further create a divide of mistrust confirming once and for all that money is God in professional sports.