Dear Mr. Wilson: Please Remember Us in Your Will

[BringBackFergy]

Might I suggest the following:

 

I, Ralph Wilson, being of sound and disposing mind (most of the time), hereby make and publish this as my Last Will and Testament:

 

1) I hereby leave to James Kelly of Buffalo, NY, a 51% ownership interest in the NFL Franchise Buffalo Bills on the condition that he or his successors or heirs maintain the franchise in the Western NY region for at least 50 years before making any demands for relocation or reconstruction of a stadium. In the event the team is offered for sale or in the event the franchise seeks to relocate outside of a 50 mile radius of Buffalo, NY, then, in that event, the 51% interest shall be converted into a publicly held corporation whereby residents of the Western New York region shall be afforded the right to purchase shares of the 51% interest at a discounted value (60% of the Fair Market Value). I make this provision with the understanding that James Kelly has established a home in Western new York, has demonstrated a commitment to the area and will maintain a level of excellence which he is capable of as shown during his years of play in the NFL. I also provide for the discount to residents of Western New York based on their loyalty to this team and franchise during the same time period.

 

2) I leave 49% of the NFL Franchise to my children with the understanding that they will share in NFL ticket and product revenue on a percentage basis with the majority owner set forth above. This provision, however, will terminate and the 49% ownership interest will revert to the majority owner under Paragraph "1" if my children butt their noses in the day to day operations of a football team they know nothing about.

 

3) I hereby leave the rest of my estate, cash, cars, houses, accounts and the other crap that I have, to my kids...go on vacation, invest money, live a good life and stay away from the Buffalo Bills....let the majority owners handle it.

 

4) To the loyal and passionate fans of Buffalo - I leave free parking passes for 50 years...Have fun and enjoy the games.

[prissythecat]

Might I suggest the following:

 

I, Ralph Wilson, being of sound and disposing mind (most of the time), hereby make and publish this as my Last Will and Testament:

 

1) I hereby leave to James Kelly of Buffalo, NY, a 51% ownership interest in the NFL Franchise Buffalo Bills on the condition that he or his successors or heirs maintain the franchise in the Western NY region for at least 50 years before making any demands for relocation or reconstruction of a stadium. In the event the team is offered for sale or in the event the franchise seeks to relocate outside of a 50 mile radius of Buffalo, NY, then, in that event, the 51% interest shall be converted into a publicly held corporation whereby residents of the Western New York region shall be afforded the right to purchase shares of the 51% interest at a discounted value (60% of the Fair Market Value). I make this provision with the understanding that James Kelly has established a home in Western new York, has demonstrated a commitment to the area and will maintain a level of excellence which he is capable of as shown during his years of play in the NFL. I also provide for the discount to residents of Western New York based on their loyalty to this team and franchise during the same time period.

 

2) I leave 49% of the NFL Franchise to my children with the understanding that they will share in NFL ticket and product revenue on a percentage basis with the majority owner set forth above. This provision, however, will terminate and the 49% ownership interest will revert to the majority owner under Paragraph "1" if my children butt their noses in the day to day operations of a football team they know nothing about.

 

3) I hereby leave the rest of my estate, cash, cars, houses, accounts and the other crap that I have, to my kids...go on vacation, invest money, live a good life and stay away from the Buffalo Bills....let the majority owners handle it.

 

4) To the loyal and passionate fans of Buffalo - I leave free parking passes for 50 years...Have fun and enjoy the games.

 

 

 

Interesting thought. But Ralph already said the Bills will be sold to highest bidder. None of his family wants the Bills.

[Fan in San Diego]

Interesting thought. But Ralph already said the Bills will be sold to highest bidder. None of his family wants the Bills.

Are they going to put the Bills on Ebay?

[sven233]

Interesting thought. But Ralph already said the Bills will be sold to highest bidder. None of his family wants the Bills.

 

He has never said that. That is something that has been assumed for some time. Now, I am not saying that is not going to happen, but this is far from confirmed. First of all, the new owner will have to be approved by the NFL, therefore the highest bidder may not end up getting approval for various reasons.

 

Look, I don't have any inside information, but I hate it when people just throw this out there. Also, I firmly believe that there is some sort of plan in place after Ralph passes. I mean, just use common sense........If you had a BILLION DOLLAR Business, would you just say "screw anything that happens after I die........whatever happens, happens?" I don't think so. There is some sort of plan in place to do something with the franchise. I don't know what it is, but if you think that it hasn't been talked about behind the scenes, then I think that is kind of naive.

 

I am just a fan like everyone else. I don't know what the plan is and we probably won't know what it is until he passes. It is frustrating for all of us not to know what the plan is, but there is almost certainly some sort of plan in the background that only certain people know about. It just won't be made public.

[weehawk]

So what are you trying to say? That the team WONT be sold to the highest bidder? That somehow, someway, the Bills will fall into friendly hands that will keep them in WNY indefinitely? I think that's naive. The NFL will not let the team go for any type of bargain price, just to keep them in a certain town or to have a particular owner. NFL owners have a well-documented history of making sure that they get every penny for a franchise and that no short-sale deals are made regardless of the circumstances.

 

It's likely true that some type of out-of-the-media discussions have taken place. However, you cant make any assumptions about a deal already being in place. I'm sure there isn't one. RW is not just throwing fate to the wind. I'm positive that the process is in place for dealing with RWs estate (the Bills and all) after his demise.

 

I dont see the future ownership of the Bills keeping them here long-term. A Bills move will not take place the season after RW passes, but I dont see the NFL in Buffalo long-term.

 

 

 

 

He has never said that. That is something that has been assumed for some time. Now, I am not saying that is not going to happen, but this is far from confirmed. First of all, the new owner will have to be approved by the NFL, therefore the highest bidder may not end up getting approval for various reasons.

 

Look, I don't have any inside information, but I hate it when people just throw this out there. Also, I firmly believe that there is some sort of plan in place after Ralph passes. I mean, just use common sense........If you had a BILLION DOLLAR Business, would you just say "screw anything that happens after I die........whatever happens, happens?" I don't think so. There is some sort of plan in place to do something with the franchise. I don't know what it is, but if you think that it hasn't been talked about behind the scenes, then I think that is kind of naive.

 

I am just a fan like everyone else. I don't know what the plan is and we probably won't know what it is until he passes. It is frustrating for all of us not to know what the plan is, but there is almost certainly some sort of plan in the background that only certain people know about. It just won't be made public.

[bills1960]

Interesting thought. But Ralph already said the Bills will be sold to highest bidder. None of his family wants the Bills.

He'll sell the team to whoever he thinks will keep the team in Buffalo. He wouldn't waist his team with this team for so long just to have them move. He would have sold them by now if that was the case.

[prissythecat]

Are they going to put the Bills on Ebay?

 

 

When an item of high value like a sports team is put up for sale, all interested parties make a bid. All else being equal (e.g., all have acceptable financial packages, acceptable business plans, qualified ownership), the highest bidder wins.

 

Bidding does not occur just on Ebay

[Marv's Neighbor]

After ALL the UNGREATFUL comments you've made about me, over the YEARS, You CAN'T be SERIOUS!

[Another Point of View]

If Ralph is going to leave THIS TEAM.............then he can take it with him!

[sven233]

So what are you trying to say? That the team WONT be sold to the highest bidder? That somehow, someway, the Bills will fall into friendly hands that will keep them in WNY indefinitely? I think that's naive. The NFL will not let the team go for any type of bargain price, just to keep them in a certain town or to have a particular owner. NFL owners have a well-documented history of making sure that they get every penny for a franchise and that no short-sale deals are made regardless of the circumstances.

 

It's likely true that some type of out-of-the-media discussions have taken place. However, you cant make any assumptions about a deal already being in place. I'm sure there isn't one. RW is not just throwing fate to the wind. I'm positive that the process is in place for dealing with RWs estate (the Bills and all) after his demise.

 

I dont see the future ownership of the Bills keeping them here long-term. A Bills move will not take place the season after RW passes, but I dont see the NFL in Buffalo long-term.

 

No, I never said it wouldn't go to the highest bidder......all I said is that it is not a foregone conclusion that happens. There are ways to set it up for a sale at a FAIR PRICE......not necessarily a "bargain price."

 

So yes, could they go to the highest bidder? Maybe. Could there be an agreement already in place for a sale to new ownership to keep the team here upon his death? Sure. All I was saying is that there is a plan somewhere. It is just not going to be left for everyone to figure out after he passes. Ralph knows what is going to happen and how everything will work. I am sure there are others that know as well. They just won't make it public. If they made it public and said there was a plan to keep the Bills in Buffalo (or the Niagara area) for the next 30 years, then people would be coming out trying to push him out of the way now and telling him to step aside (heck, there are people already doing that). People would really stop buying tickets because many that are are just doing it to support the team. They don't want that to happen. So, there are many reasons for keeping the plan a secret if there is one to keep the team in Buffalo.

 

Again, I am not saying for sure that there is a plan in place to keep the team here, but I do believe it has been talked about a lot more than what people think. Personally, what I think will happen in the end is that we will have a partnership with the people in Toronto and the Bills will relocate......NOT TO TORONTO, but to somewhere in the middle of Buffalo and Toronto. They will be more regionalized. I think that instead of the "Buffalo" Bills, there will be the "Niagara Bills" or somehting along those lines. Sort of what happened to the Patriots......moving away from "Boston" to "New England." While it may be too expensive to keep the Bills here, it is even more expensive to relocate the team somewhere. But, a partnership with Toronto would work for everyone, providing they don't move the Bills across the border.

 

But whatever......I don't know. That is just my guess. I just think there is more going on behind the scenes than people think. That's all.

[mbossman2]

Unless RW dies before the end of the year, the Bills will have to be sold to cover the Estate taxes. the 2011 top federal estate tax rate will be 55%, with a FMV of the Bills in the neighborhood of $1billion, that makes the tax payable in the $550million range, the only asset that is large enough to pay that liability is the Bills organization.