Kirby Jackson

I don’t think either of those guys were selfish. They wanted their market value. We were not giving it to them. They had to go elsewhere to get it. It’s the same in every job. If you aren’t being paid what you are worth you will explore your options and someone else will do that. We’ve all done it.

Ha ha, “he mailed it in.” “All that he wanted was a check.” “Now he’s out of shape.” “We should have given that money to Levi Wallace.”

I think that we are in the ballpark Also, another prediction as soon as Tre signs that contract he goes from our favorite player to public enemy number 1. Bills fans HATE highly compensated players.

The ONLY way that he agrees to it now is if he’s the highest paid CB ever. I’m totally fine with that. He’s absolutely going to set the market with his next contract. 5 years, $75M with $50M fully guaranteed? That feels like it can get it done

He’s not investing $1B!! The more money the NFL teams make the more valuable the franchise becomes. Would he be a moron to invest $250M to bring in $30M-$40M a year in profit? Keep in mind, that the franchise value will increase at the same time.

He’s not putting out a billion out of pocket!! He’s probably not putting out half of that. NFL teams are constantly increasing in value but the Bills get a fairly sizable jump with a new stadium. Is it crazy to think that the value of the team increases $250M with a new stadium? That’s roughly, what I expect him to come out of pocket for. If the value jumps by $250M and he is generating more revenue it makes sense for him (depending on the debt he takes on). Toronto? I know no one wants to hear that but that’s probably the most sensical answer. That’s part of the reason though that the renovation route is unlikely.

Not sure if you are trolling or not but every single one of those places underwent MASSIVE renovations. Renovations that cost about as much as a new stadium.

Depending on where they put it. I’m sure that you will see development around it.

I think that you’re spot on with these thoughts. It is an inevitability at this point. It’s just a matter of what exactly it looks like. Most likely It will take on a different form and evolve. There will probably be some tailgating as we know it. Additionally there will be a lot more bars, restaurants, etc... My guess (strictly a guess) is that it will kind of work like Cleveland in that sense. They still have tailgating in the muni lot but they also have a variety of other options.

That is true but it almost became a reality until Ralph spoke up last time. There were only 2 votes against the proposal, Ralph and Mike Brown. You will almost certainly see it moving in that direction. We don’t know how extreme it will be at this point. Jones will push for one extreme. Pegula will push for the other extreme. It will end up somewhere in between.

Because they own a business!! I’ve never, in my life, seen a business owner that doesn’t care about how much money they make. I’ve never seen someone say, “I have enough money.” That’s just not the real world. He wants his asset, the Bills, to keep going up in value. He can use public funds to help make that a reality. Of course he is going to do that!!

That’s one of my thoughts. Don’t know exactly what it looks like but have a feeling he has a role in it. Oh I know, that’s why I prefaced it. It may be at the county level or whatever but there will absolutely be public funds involved. That’s just the way that is in 2020. The Bills will point to the countless other teams in broke states that already got it. The precedent is too strong for an exception.

It really was. He did probably 30 rolls, sashimi, a seafood salad and took requests.

The state will be contributing something like that. Before someone goes to “the state is broke” or whatever. It will end up happening. That’s just the way it is.

On the menu thread I hosted a dinner last night. We had a sushi chef that owns Rock N’ Sake come and cook for the group. We had 15 in total and he made sushi for 2 hours. It was a hell of a party

Yep, you are the only one that thinks that. He will forgo $400m(ish) from the state? Absolutely not

Well we definitely DID want him. I highly doubt he’s on anyone’s team this year. He went off the deep end and has a pending suspension hanging out there.

@Virgil can I make a request (and it’s a big ask)? I think it would be fun if with one of these we have @thebandit27 @GunnerBill @BuffaloHokie13 or someone else that follow the draft closely grade the teams. I don’t want to volunteer them because it’s a lot of work but think that would be a really fun twist. Which teams hit? Which missed? Where was the value? Cole Kmet will go in the 1st 2 rounds

OMG, you have no idea how difficult she can be!! She’s here now and the temperature in my house is set at 62 degrees!! Just an example, i like to sleep in the cold but my God!! 2019 on both

He got you too?!? Damn it!! In terms of the more affluent fan it’s a bit of a gamble. They will certainly have to cater to them at some level. It will need to be insulated (in some ways) from the weather. They will have to have amenities that appeal to the wives (which believe it or not teams suck at). I have this girl that I’m kind of seeing and she has extremely high expectations and tastes. She would never make it as it currently is (even in the clubs). There are a segment of people that aren’t coming without their wives. You’d need to bring them in. They will have to expand the geography (which has been happening for a while). It will be a challenge to be able to attract the “new fan” without alienating the base. The passion is so strong IMO that the base will be there even if it’s kicking and screaming. I tend to believe they will build more with the “new fan” and gamble that the base will be there.

Oh I agree!! How about the decades of tax-exempt status? You said it perfectly “the horse left the barn long ago.”

I just think there is such a precedent for it at this point. The Yankees, Mets, MSG have all benefited from public funding. I don’t know what was at the local level and what at the state level. With the Bills being the ONLY NY NFL team (the only time this is important) they will certainly ask. Speaking of which, I bought a bunch of land out there from him. I would like to sell it if anyone is interested???

I think there is certainly some of that. At least they will be more segmented. There is a certain type of buyer that currently isn’t interested in attending as it stands. The Bills will be tasked with current traditions without alienating the more affluent fan. It’s a bit of both. It will be a challenge but they have smart people that can figure that out.

So I made some bets this weekend. We will see if my theory works. I bet the over, the over, the over, the over and a parlay over, over, over, over.

I wasn’t skipping over anything. When the example of other teams are used why do we go to what they charge in Dallas or NY? That’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about places like Indy, Cleveland and New Orleans. The studies have been done and the market can bear more than it currently is. Again, if you want my entire detail (including numbers associated with it) it’s all on here somewhere. I just really don’t feel like going through it again. As some background (and without sounding like a know it all) I have a Master’s Degree is Sports Management and worked in pro sports for almost a decade. I worked in a situation where the team was sold twice and potentially going to be relocated. My thoughts as to what it it takes come from real world experience. I’ve been a part of the negotiations with the state, concessionaires, NBA, NBAPA, sponsors and fans. I promise you that Buffalo can sustain a lot more than it currently is. With that being said, they aren’t going to build some new stadium and start charging Dallas prices. They are going to operate near the bottom of the league in revenues but the gap between them and others will be smaller. You need to think in terms of the CBA. The Kraft’s and Jones’ of the world are going to argue for LESS of the current revenue being shared. They will argue each team should be responsible for a greater share of the pie. “Why should we subsidize the Bills of the world?” When that inevitably happens, it will be imperative that the Bills are generating more revenue to remain competitive.