Pegulas selling 25% of the Bills, per Tim Graham

[ddaryl]

7 hours ago, BobbyC81 said:

They should sell shares (like Green Bay) for like $100.  The us Bills fans just need to buy 9.25M shares.  Easy peasey.

 

💸 💵 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰

 

 

FYI.. The NFL put a kabosh to that right after Greenbay did it.  

[WotAGuy]

1 minute ago, nucci said:

and not have to pay for the new stadium

There’s also the growing number of guaranteed contracts that require all the funds to be put into escrow.  That, plus all the cash outlays for regular operations probably presents some cash flow challenges. Even though the team is worth a ton on paper, that’s not ready cash needed to accommodate everything going on. 

[papazoid]

initial cost estimate of new stadium $1.4 Billion

current cost estimate of new stadium $1.7 Billion

likely final cost estimate of new stadium $2.0 Billion

 

NY State Contribution $600 million  (not part of "construction costs" is an additional $280 million for maintenance over 30 years)

NFL & Bills Contribution $550 million (Pegula's portion is $350 million)

Erie County Contribution $250 million

SUB TOTAL Contribution $1.4 Billion

 

Pegulas are  responsible for any and all cost over runs....currently at $300 million and rising.

 

Projected to raise $200 million in PSL's

 

so, if you factor in cost over runs....i say he will pay $750 million or +35% of his own money

[WotAGuy]

29 minutes ago, papazoid said:

initial cost estimate of new stadium $1.4 Billion

current cost estimate of new stadium $1.7 Billion

likely final cost estimate of new stadium $2.0 Billion

 

NY State Contribution $600 million  (not part of "construction costs" is an additional $280 million for maintenance over 30 years)

NFL & Bills Contribution $550 million (Pegula's portion is $350 million)

Erie County Contribution $250 million

SUB TOTAL Contribution $1.4 Billion

 

Pegulas are  responsible for any and all cost over runs....currently at $300 million and rising.

 

Projected to raise $200 million in PSL's

 

so, if you factor in cost over runs....i say he will pay $750 million or +35% of his own money

 

Doesn’t the team have to pay back the NFL loan - comes out of gate receipts or something like that?

 

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2023/12/14/nfl-g5-program

Edited April 20 by WotAGuy

[Boatdrinks]

43 minutes ago, nucci said:

and not have to pay for the new stadium

This ^^^ T Pegs has said all along that he doesn’t want to spend his fortune on a stadium. It may make some sense in NYC or Dallas but not in Buffalo. 

[papazoid]

4 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

 

Doesn’t the team have to pay back the NFL loan - comes out of gate receipts or something like that?

 

Under the G4 program rules, Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula would be required to put up matching dollars which would increase the private funding to at least $400 million for the new stadium.

 

https://apnews.com/article/kathy-hochul-buffalo-bills-nfl-business-sports-5c1d8f41c66fc2116fe852a9c16e717d

 

Owners created a successor to the G-4 stadium financing program this week, allowing teams to continue to borrow from the NFL to build or renovate stadiums. Final approval of the G-5 edition had emerged as an urgent matter with major construction projects popping up around the league and the current program at capacity. It will broadly resemble prior generations, with bigger numbers and some tweaks.

Each team will be able to tap up to $300 million -- up from G4's $200 million ceiling -- for construction/renovations from the league if they match that with their own money and get some degree of government assistance (purely private projects are not eligible). It comes in three tranches of $100 million each, with different conditions for each bucket. Teams repay the loans partly by using funds that would normally be subject to revenue sharing.

 

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2023/12/14/nfl-g5-program

[Jauronimo]

19 hours ago, dpberr said:

I've had a long standing theory that Bills (and Sabres) ownership is more fragile than it appears.  It does not surprise me to see this announcement.

 

Terry is in his early 70s, Kim's status as owner is unknown, and none of the five kids are easy to spot heir apparent to running the menagerie of companies he has in his portfolio.

 

What you really don't want to see is Terry pass unexpectedly, and the ownership is transacted by the family to the highest bidder.  That's a nightmare Bon Jovi scenario.  The likelihood of the Bills being owned by someone like Terry with a deep appreciation of Buffalo and western New York is slim in that scenario.  

Jesse is primed to take a large role once her tennis career is done.  Its something she has discussed publicly.

[Augie]

15 minutes ago, Jauronimo said:

Jesse is primed to take a large role once her tennis career is done.  Its something she has discussed publicly.

 

I was not aware she had openly discussed it, but I love hearing that! 

[mrags]

I don’t follow hockey, nor do I really care. And this probably deserves its own link but it’s a football message board. But I just saw this too. Doesn’t seem like a very in depth article. Take it for what it’s worth. 
 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/reports-that-terry-pegula-has-sold-the-buffalo-sabres?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHfpcAM43k638WwUaIRx2UIqVmRtqcTjjE5fVYM8S9vXCg2tgZXCI76aRuA_aem_AR5ncLc5TMUqpVukKA7jhqeeI1NqAyjh-ec23R9wTqOrPWqT6EwJmgDUI5EdO6bUJYI

[papazoid]

7 minutes ago, mrags said:

I don’t follow hockey, nor do I really care. And this probably deserves its own link but it’s a football message board. But I just saw this too. Doesn’t seem like a very in depth article. Take it for what it’s worth. 
 

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/reports-that-terry-pegula-has-sold-the-buffalo-sabres?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHfpcAM43k638WwUaIRx2UIqVmRtqcTjjE5fVYM8S9vXCg2tgZXCI76aRuA_aem_AR5ncLc5TMUqpVukKA7jhqeeI1NqAyjh-ec23R9wTqOrPWqT6EwJmgDUI5EdO6bUJYI

 

that source is unverified and has been since refuted:

 

The team issued this statement Friday afternoon: 

"The Pegula family has retained Allen & Company to explore the potential sale of a non-controlling, minority interest in the Bills. These discussions only involve the Bills and no other team. No investment would be possible without Terry Pegula and the Pegula family maintaining a controlling interest in the team. Their continued commitment to Western New York, the new Highmark Stadium, our fans, and the other teams in their portfolio remains unchanged. Neither the team nor the Pegula family are able to comment further at this point.”

 

https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/nfl/bills/buffalo-bills-selling-part-team/71-67d86977-6a46-4e1c-a2ec-29ab43a30d8a

[mrags]

13 minutes ago, papazoid said:

 

that source is unverified and has been since refuted:

 

The team issued this statement Friday afternoon: 

"The Pegula family has retained Allen & Company to explore the potential sale of a non-controlling, minority interest in the Bills. These discussions only involve the Bills and no other team. No investment would be possible without Terry Pegula and the Pegula family maintaining a controlling interest in the team. Their continued commitment to Western New York, the new Highmark Stadium, our fans, and the other teams in their portfolio remains unchanged. Neither the team nor the Pegula family are able to comment further at this point.”

 

https://www.wgrz.com/article/sports/nfl/bills/buffalo-bills-selling-part-team/71-67d86977-6a46-4e1c-a2ec-29ab43a30d8a

I didn’t put much into it. The article seemed more about the mismanagement of how the Sabres were being ran than anything. I don’t follow hockey or the Sabres at all, just came across the article and found it interesting just a day after it’s announced that they are looking to sell 25% of the Bills too. 

[CodeMonkey]

21 hours ago, Back2Buff said:

Makes zero sense to me.  Can't believe the Pegula's have money issues.

Doing that doesn't automatically mean he has money problems.  His wife is not well and his daughters tennis career is in full swing so maybe he wants to start easing into retirement.

Personally I wish he would sell the Sabres outright.

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, CodeMonkey said:

Doing that doesn't automatically mean he has money problems.  His wife is not well and his daughters tennis career is in full swing so maybe he wants to start easing into retirement.

Personally I wish he would sell the Sabres outright.

 

Selling the Sabres means the team moves. No one will pay what the Sabres are worth to keep the team here. Not when Houston and Atlanta want teams.

Edited April 20 by PromoTheRobot

[papazoid]

17 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Selling the Sabres means the team moves. No one will play what the Sabres are worth to keep the team here. Not when Houston and Atlanta want teams.

 

where theres smoke theres fire??

 

maybe the pegulas initial thought to raise capital was to sell 100% of everything but the bills. then after a few feelers, realized what you are saying was true. word of that leaked fast. but pegula doesnt want to hurt wny so he switched to the 25% bills. 

[RyanC883]

No biggie here. For example, the Steelers are not 100 percent owned by the Rooneys. 

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, papazoid said:

 

where theres smoke theres fire??

 

maybe the pegulas initial thought to raise capital was to sell 100% of everything but the bills. then after a few feelers, realized what you are saying was true. word of that leaked fast. but pegula doesnt want to hurt wny so he switched to the 25% bills. 

 

Naw, I think the other story is 100% bull poop. But the Rochester Knighthawks are for sale and will likely move.

[DaVinci]

Here is a good article relating to the Green Bay packers ownership and how it fostered rule changes.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/sep/30/the-green-bay-packers-where-fans-rather-than-a-billionaire-are-the-owners#:~:text=Well%2C according to current NFL,organized as for-profit entities.

[RiotAct]

21 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

 

To some extent that’s ok I just think he’s way too far - to the point he’d rather avoid even talking to the public - remember his early days as Sabres owner some of his press conferences were awkward like he didn’t want to be doing it or didn’t know how to communicate.  

yeah those were painful.  I remember thinking “how the hell is this guy a billionaire?!?!?”

[BigDingus]

14 minutes ago, DaVinci said:

Here is a good article relating to the Green Bay packers ownership and how it fostered rule changes.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/sep/30/the-green-bay-packers-where-fans-rather-than-a-billionaire-are-the-owners#:~:text=Well%2C according to current NFL,organized as for-profit entities.

 

I think it's pretty clear why the NFL changed the rules.

 

If local community owns the team, there's no way to leverage the team against the city for cushy tax breaks, stadium funding, or the threat of relocating.

 

Better to have a billionaire owner or ownership group who can say "we'll move to San Antonio if you don't give us $2 billion for a new stadium!" Fans just want the team to stay put, so there's a huge limit placed on future growth.

 

If Green Bay's population & surrounding areas never grow, the team is still staying put. The NFL can't pressure them into a new stadium, and fans are content having a team to root for.

[LabattBlue]

2 hours ago, CodeMonkey said:

Doing that doesn't automatically mean he has money problems.  His wife is not well and his daughters tennis career is in full swing so maybe he wants to start easing into retirement.

Personally I wish he would sell the Sabres outright.

If he still has controlling interest, selling 25% of the team doesn’t “ease” his burden at all. 

[Yantha]

I'll buy the 25% but only if I can personally make 25% of all draft picks!  lol

 

 

[Boatdrinks]

11 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

 

I think it's pretty clear why the NFL changed the rules.

 

If local community owns the team, there's no way to leverage the team against the city for cushy tax breaks, stadium funding, or the threat of relocating.

 

Better to have a billionaire owner or ownership group who can say "we'll move to San Antonio if you don't give us $2 billion for a new stadium!" Fans just want the team to stay put, so there's a huge limit placed on future growth.

 

If Green Bay's population & surrounding areas never grow, the team is still staying put. The NFL can't pressure them into a new stadium, and fans are content having a team to root for.

Fwiw the rule against this type of ownership was established a long time ago, when there probably weren’t any billionaire NFL owners etc . It didn’t happen in say , 1985.

[WotAGuy]

9 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

If he still has controlling interest, selling 25% of the team doesn’t “ease” his burden at all. 

You are the only one mentioning a “burden”, but I can see where he is being strategic in setting up an ownership partner that can one day buy Pegula out completely. That would definitely be some immediate peace of mind if it were me. 

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, WotAGuy said:

You are the only one mentioning a “burden”, but I can see where he is being strategic in setting up an ownership partner that can one day buy Pegula out completely. That would definitely be some immediate peace of mind if it were me. 

The poster I responded to talked about “easing”.   What exactly is he “easing” if not the burden of responsibility?

[WotAGuy]

Just now, LabattBlue said:

The poster I responded to talked about “easing”.   What exactly is he “easing” if not the burden of responsibility?

As in “easing off the gas” or “coasting” into retirement.  It’s basically planning ahead and transitioning toward retirement. Having a co-owner puts Pegula in much better position to divest of the Bills if need be some day. 

[LabattBlue]

3 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

As in “easing off the gas” or “coasting” into retirement.  It’s basically planning ahead and transitioning toward retirement. Having a co-owner puts Pegula in much better position to divest of the Bills if need be some day. 

I am reading his post differently.  I will move on. 

[WotAGuy]

6 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I am reading his post differently.  I will move on. 

Can I be a super fan?

[HOUSE]

On 4/19/2024 at 3:45 PM, Beast said:

If @HOUSE finds his wallet we will have no worries.

I left my wallet in my work clothes 

[Augie]

40 minutes ago, HOUSE said:

I left my wallet in my work clothes 

 

When did you get work? Good for you! 

 

 

I see a new ashtray in your future! Are you excited??? 

[Just Jack]

On 4/19/2024 at 3:42 PM, Prospector said:

And I am good for 25% of your 25% of his 25%

 

And I am good for 25% of your 25% of his 25% of his 25%.

 

BTW, Powerball is $98M tonight, and Mega is $202M Tuesday night, for those interested. 

[Dillenger4]

And here come Rogers Canada. 25%, with value stock... not a great scenario for The Bills.

[loyal2dagame]

I hope he's selling the 25% to buy the KC Royals and move them to Buffalo.

That'll show Kansas City fans. 

[Matt_In_NH]

Lots of questions in my head

 

1.  Is this because Pegula is low on cash and could this get worse, chance of selling team outright sooner than later?  Maybe  he needs cash for stadium overruns

2.  Maybe he wants cash to help with inheritance if his kids were going to take over?

3.  The Bills are underspending the cap this year in terms of cash which in my mind is good but .......is it related to running low on cash in the business?

 

[McDeerInTheHeadlights]

On 4/20/2024 at 1:40 AM, BillsFanForever19 said:

Why would anyone want to pay $925 million dollars (and probably be asked to help with finances for the team) and have no say in anything?

 

Even billionaires make idiotic decisions. I mean, some may argue that owning multiple entertainment businesses in one of the most economically depressed regions in the country may be one of them.

 

There is a remote possibility that some billionaire may bite for vanity purposes alone.

 

However, it's much more likely that any such deal will have to include the possibility to buy a majority stake some time down the road.

 

Yet another scenario would be buying the rights to build some corollary business around the new stadium, but that would also be an idiotic decision as outlined above.

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

On 4/20/2024 at 10:12 AM, WotAGuy said:

There’s also the growing number of guaranteed contracts that require all the funds to be put into escrow.  That, plus all the cash outlays for regular operations probably presents some cash flow challenges. Even though the team is worth a ton on paper, that’s not ready cash needed to accommodate everything going on. 

 

The TV/merch/licensing money covers all expenses.  The rest is free money. 

[Boatdrinks]

18 minutes ago, Matt_In_NH said:

Lots of questions in my head

 

1.  Is this because Pegula is low on cash and could this get worse, chance of selling team outright sooner than later?  Maybe  he needs cash for stadium overruns

2.  Maybe he wants cash to help with inheritance if his kids were going to take over?

3.  The Bills are underspending the cap this year in terms of cash which in my mind is good but .......is it related to running low on cash in the business?

 

Most likely it’s liquid cash to cover stadium overruns. 

[Doc]

1 hour ago, Boatdrinks said:

Most likely it’s liquid cash to cover stadium overruns. 

 

Imagine a downtown stadium.  Much less with a dome.

[Boatdrinks]

6 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Imagine a downtown stadium.  Much less with a dome.

Probably another 5-600 million $ or more. 

[Mike in Horseheads]

21 hours ago, Just Jack said:

 

And I am good for 25% of your 25% of his 25% of his 25%.

 

BTW, Powerball is $98M tonight, and Mega is $202M Tuesday night, for those interested. 

That would give you 30% of the 25%

[Just Jack]

10 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

That would give you 30% of the 25%

 

No one hit PB last night so it's up to $115M next drawing.