Jump to content

Book tells of up-and-down negotiations that led to Bills stadium lease deal


Recommended Posts

1 minute ago, dwight in philly said:

More "inside NYS politics" not something to :"enlighten the masses" with , especially when Polancarz had a go to guy in negotiations that is now incarcerated.. 

 

...LMAO.... thought the same thing...a politician writing a book.....HAS TO BE gospel........

  • Like (+1) 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

It's generally believed that Littman received a % of the team sale.......likely due to ownership stock given.......thus he had a personal, vested interest in maximizing the sale price.

 

I don't doubt Ralph preferred the team be kept in Buffalo...........he wanted more than anything to be remembered.........hence allowing the stadium to be named after him while he was still living?............. and he'd be totally forgotten by fans in a new city.............my guess is that he was open to the $400K relocation fee by then because he and Littman had already extracted about that out of the player payroll during the drought to cover inheritance tax concerns..........which became moot when the sales price became double what it would have been about 5 years earlier.

 

 

If I'm not mistaken there was no inheritance tax from the sale of the Bills because the proceeds from the sale went into a charitable foundation thus avoiding the inheritance tax on that sale altogether. Jack Kent Cook upon his death had the Redskins sold with the money going into a scholarship fund that also resulted in  his estate not paying an inheritance tax on the sale of the team.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

Littman seemed like a little turd who didn't care about the Bills or the fans; he was a bean counter who wanted to get paid...a lot.  Not surprised given how tight fisted he was while in the front office.

I am sure his bonuses are tied to team bonuses and if team was sold he was going to make a lot of money.

I am sure he will be crap throwing monkey on this issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

...yes Ralph got public credit for the $400 mil relo penalty, BUT who launched the press?.......I seriously doubt it was his family or Foundation...it was media driven I believe........yes the Estate got paid, but he wrote his Will to read that his ENTIRE $1.2 billion fortune must be wholly donated to charity within 20 years after his death...still remains an honorable man IMO...

I agree. I am not one of those fans that insults Ralph Wilson all the time. We wouldn't even have a team without him.

  • Like (+1) 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Doc said:

 

Poloncarz could have been lying about Littman's reaction.  He's a politician you know.  And if Littman did indeed get angry, perhaps it was a "after all Ralph Wilson has done to remain in the area for decades?" kind of thing?

 

If anything, MP is debunking the whole loyalty narrative about Ralph and Buffalo.  Seems like he maybe didn’t care as much as we thought he did.

 

like you said though, he’s a career politician, so who knows?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, MJS said:

I agree. I am not one of those fans that insults Ralph Wilson all the time. We wouldn't even have a team without him.

 

2 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said:

 

 

...yes Ralph got public credit for the $400 mil relo penalty, BUT who launched the press?.......I seriously doubt it was his family or Foundation...it was media driven I believe........yes the Estate got paid, but he wrote his Will to read that his ENTIRE $1.2 billion fortune must be wholly donated to charity within 20 years after his death...still remains an honorable man IMO...

 

The degree that Ralph was dedicated to the Bills staying local after his death has always been uncertain though

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said:

If anything, MP is debunking the whole loyalty narrative about Ralph and Buffalo.  Seems like he maybe didn’t care as much as we thought he did.

 

like you said though, he’s a career politician, so who knows?

 

Like I said before, Ralph could have said "no" to the relocation fee.  Or moved the team to any of the cities other teams have moved/the NFL has expanded into anytime during his ownership.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Happy Gilmore said:

 

I don't think Littman could do anything about it.  If Littman cared about the Bills staying in Buffalo, he wouldn't have been so surprised, upset, or even minded this fee was attached to the deal.  

 

I don’t think the owners really care if players smoke pot. But they are going to get something in return if and when it changes. You play EVERY angle you have. 

 

Yes, Ralph was no longer deeply involved and pounding his fist on the table, but his general wishes were well known to his people, and they managed the situation accordingly. 

 

The Bills are still in WNY, appear to be staying....and I don’t have to know all the details or argue about how it happened.

 

GO BILLS! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, Phil The Thrill said:

 

If anything, MP is debunking the whole loyalty narrative about Ralph and Buffalo.  Seems like he maybe didn’t care as much as we thought he did.

 

like you said though, he’s a career politician, so who knows?

 

A career politician up for reelection.

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

I don’t think the owners really care if players smoke pot. But they are going to get something in return if and when it changes. You play EVERY angle you have. 

 

 

I disagree on this matter.  Most of the owners are old and just because current generation pushes for it does not mean they will change their minds on something they thought was wrong.  If they DO change it I agree it will be something NFLPA has to bargain for and give up to get it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

I disagree on this matter.  Most of the owners are old and just because current generation pushes for it does not mean they will change their minds on something they thought was wrong.  If they DO change it I agree it will be something NFLPA has to bargain for and give up to get it.

 

We can agree to disagree. They are smart people, and BILLIONAIRES for a reason. They don’t care about weed.....if they get something in return. They know it’s just one card they have to play. Nothing more. They may even know the tide is turning against them if they know the other options are more opioid use. The value of that chip may decrease over time. But we’ll see. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm amazed that people are taking a politican's word as absolute truth.  Especially because the people that could dispute this story are: deceased (RCW) and discredited (Russ Brandon) or the same political party (Cuomo/Schumer).  

 

Isn't there a potentially competitive Congressional seat up in Erie County next year?  Build some street credit, try to establish yourself as a hero, and then try to win the seat.  

 

Sorry, I don't trust politicians.  Regardless of political party.  Especially not politicians whose only career work is in government.  

  • Like (+1) 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, 17years&waiting said:

I'm amazed that people are taking a politican's word as absolute truth.  Especially because the people that could dispute this story are: deceased (RCW) and discredited (Russ Brandon) or the same political party (Cuomo/Schumer).  

 

Isn't there a potentially competitive Congressional seat up in Erie County next year?  Build some street credit, try to establish yourself as a hero, and then try to win the seat.  

 

Sorry, I don't trust politicians.  Regardless of political party.  Especially not politicians whose only career work is in government.  

 

I don't trust politicians, either.  If, for example, the $400 million dollar relocation clause and negotiations didn't go as described in the book, Littman (and probably lawyers aware of the matter) could say something about that to the Buffalo News, Rochester D&C, etc.  Poloncarz would be called out, so there probably is a least a bit of truth in the book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

We can agree to disagree. They are smart people, and BILLIONAIRES for a reason. They don’t care about weed.....if they get something in return. They know it’s just one card they have to play. Nothing more. They may even know the tide is turning against them if they know the other options are more opioid use. The value of that chip may decrease over time. But we’ll see. 

Yeah. I'm thinking Kraft and Jones aren't too worried about weed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...