What do you think Ralph Wilson would think of these Bills?

[Draconator]

18 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

Did it have a TransTrem?

Bass. No transtrem.

[Snappysnackcakes]

On 6/29/2025 at 5:26 PM, Doc Brown said:

Ralph for the record was absolutely cheap.  I think he gave his daughter on his death bed his favorite watch for a 15% discount.  The cash to cap nonsense was ridiculous.  We wouldn’t have Allen, Beane, McDermott, or a new stadium.  

We’d have Frank Reich as coach trying to tudor Kenny Pickett and we’d have a 7,000 sign Aaron Rodgers thread going.
 

 

Ralph actually endured burying an adult child, one who was deeply involved in the organization, and responsible for our drafting of Jerry Butler. This is why Ralph took the hospice network in Buffalo under his wing financially. I’m pretty sure you don’t know this, based upon n the initial comment, but he lost his only offspring and it affected him profoundly. I’ll say it again, Ralph was an insurance guy and that caused him to have a difficult time quantifying the impact/salary equation. However, as a human, you quite possibly could find no better example of graciousness and kindness. He quite literally funded Buffalo and Detroit in some specific areas that had profound impacts on him. That is a sign of a noble person and I hope people in similar situations follow his lead. 

[Don Otreply]

Ralph would be pleased with the results, but not the money spent on coaches…,  🤣

 

 

 

[Mikie2times]

On 7/1/2025 at 9:37 PM, Snappysnackcakes said:

Ralph actually endured burying an adult child, one who was deeply involved in the organization, and responsible for our drafting of Jerry Butler. This is why Ralph took the hospice network in Buffalo under his wing financially. I’m pretty sure you don’t know this, based upon n the initial comment, but he lost his only offspring and it affected him profoundly. I’ll say it again, Ralph was an insurance guy and that caused him to have a difficult time quantifying the impact/salary equation. However, as a human, you quite possibly could find no better example of graciousness and kindness. He quite literally funded Buffalo and Detroit in some specific areas that had profound impacts on him. That is a sign of a noble person and I hope people in similar situations follow his lead. 

His legacy should never be questioned by Bills fans. A lot of things pissed us off, but he is the Bills and they wouldn't be in WNY without him. He started the franchise there and he ensured they would stay.

[Wacka]

He is also responsible for the Patriots and the Raiders still being here. He loaned the owners $ when they were going under. in the 60's.

[Mr. WEO]

"I should have taken him for 2 billion..."

[WotAGuy]

I have nothing to go on, however I don’t think Ralph had the financial resources to compete in today’s NFL. He was a rich man, but not sure he was NFL rich as it exists today. 

[klos63]

He probably would have fired Beane over something stupid.

 

Hate to say it,  Ralph was a pretty lousy owner overall. RIP

[Mikie2times]

Bills Braskey is a real SOB

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

A couple of hypothetical responses / reactions from Mr. Wilson:

 

"Third uniform?!  Do they think I am made of money?  Fine, but players are responsible for washing them."

 

"FLY?!  There's no reason we can't rent a couple of Cottrell's school buses for Cleveland, Pittsburgh, the New Jersey teams, and Philly.  Check the train schedules for Boston."

 

We greatly exaggerate his thriftiness for a laugh.  How many of the clowns owning teams now would you trust with the Bills?

[Ralonzo]

Ralph would have traded the Bills for the Sabres and run the Sabres exactly like Pegula is running the Sabres.

[JohnNord]

On 6/25/2025 at 6:09 PM, Billsfed1 said:

Hypothetically speaking…if Ralph was a younger man and sold off the franchise to the Pegula’s, and was alive today to see the evolution of the organization in that time span, what do you suppose he would think?

 

Personally, I think he’d be pleased with the ownership group.  Not just what they’ve given us on the field, but all the off the field contributions to community as well.

 

The team has enjoyed some pretty good success under Terry and Kim, and now we’ve got the new stadium to ensure longevity.

 

All that’s missing at this point is the one thing Ralph tried to bring home and fell just a tad short, that elusive Lombardi.

 

All things considered, i’d imagine he’d be pretty proud with these Bills.

 

 

He would think that Terry is spending too much money and giving too much authority  to his HC and GM.  
 

Ralph was not a very good owner for the majority of the time when I followed the football team . 

37 minutes ago, Ralonzo said:

Ralph would have traded the Bills for the Sabres and run the Sabres exactly like Pegula is running the Sabres.

This is so true.  If he did happen to luck into McDermott like Pegula did, he never would’ve given him the authority to make changes to fix the culture and eliminate the problems.  

[Buffalo716]

Ralph means way more to the City of Buffalo and myself than Terry will ever be to the city 

 

No offense, the people who speak ill will of Ralph when he did so much is crazy 

 

Don't be mistaken there would be people here who if Ralph had 10 super bowls wins,  they would complain he didn't have 30

Edited July 8 by Buffalo716

[T master]

On 6/26/2025 at 8:06 AM, SoCal Deek said:

I don’t think things would be all that different if Ralph was still with us. I’m guessing he’d approve of the stadium deal with the County/State chipping in a good deal. And with the design itself not being over the top. He’d love having a quarterback locked in as the primary rainmaker. He’d also like the utility knife player extensions, investing in modest contracts as opposed to big splashes. But…I’m guessing he’d not have approved of the Von Miller deal whatsoever. 

Especially seeing as he cut Bruce, Thurman, & Andre in 1 year Von would have been gone or possibly not even been brought in especially for the kind of money they gave him .

[SoCal Deek]

39 minutes ago, T master said:

Especially seeing as he cut Bruce, Thurman, & Andre in 1 year Von would have been gone or possibly not even been brought in especially for the kind of money they gave him .

The Bills aren’t running an alumni program. It was time for Bruce, Andre and Thurman to move or retire as Bills. None of them did anything after leaving WNY….with the possible exception of Bruce who made a little noise with the Redskins. 

[T master]

Just now, SoCal Deek said:

The Bills aren’t running an alumni program. It was time for Bruce, Andre and Thurman to move or retire as Bills. None of them did anything after leaving WNY….with the possible exception of Bruce who made a little noise with the Redskins. 

Well maybe Thurman didn't do much but he was a Bill at heart & was just pissed because of being let go & I'm not quite sure exactly what Andre did !

 

But in the 3 seasons Bruce was in a Redskins uniform he had recorded 19 more sacks which made him the All time leader and helped to secure him in the HOF & would have been worth every penny to keep him around .

 

I for one sure would have rather had them come in a Bills uniform rather than a Redskins uniform, especially seeing what he gave to Ralph & this team in the time he was here !!! 

 

So I agree with you on that point but there is something to be said about showing a employee that has given so much to the team or company they worked so hard for for years a little love at the end of their career, But maybe that's just me 🤔 

[SoCal Deek]

5 hours ago, T master said:

Well maybe Thurman didn't do much but he was a Bill at heart & was just pissed because of being let go & I'm not quite sure exactly what Andre did !

 

But in the 3 seasons Bruce was in a Redskins uniform he had recorded 19 more sacks which made him the All time leader and helped to secure him in the HOF & would have been worth every penny to keep him around .

 

I for one sure would have rather had them come in a Bills uniform rather than a Redskins uniform, especially seeing what he gave to Ralph & this team in the time he was here !!! 

 

So I agree with you on that point but there is something to be said about showing a employee that has given so much to the team or company they worked so hard for for years a little love at the end of their career, But maybe that's just me 🤔 

It’s not you, but remember the NFL is not like any normal employer/employee relationship. These guys careers are super short and they are paid at the very top of their profession. There’s little cap wiggle room, or player appetite for that matter, for keeping players on at a reduced salary. 

[T master]

On 7/12/2025 at 11:53 PM, SoCal Deek said:

It’s not you, but remember the NFL is not like any normal employer/employee relationship. These guys careers are super short and they are paid at the very top of their profession. There’s little cap wiggle room, or player appetite for that matter, for keeping players on at a reduced salary. 

But there are the exceptions to the rule like Brady, or Bruce, and others that still perform maybe not as high as they once did but still enough to justify their slightly reduced salaries to keep them around IMHO .