What is the origin of “Ralph is cheap.”

[haroldwaide]

If I recall correctly, and I assume someone here can help if I don't, the rent Ralph paid to Erie county during the first lease was more than, or close to, the face value of every single ticket in the regular season...the tv contracts weren't nearly as lucrative as they are now, either.  

Things got better in the later leases, but owning the team was not profitable like it is now.  

 

I also seem to recall that the league mandated $13 million or something like that in luxury suite sales if a city wanted to keep their team. Hence the dugout suites being added during renovations, along with the save the Bills committee.  ( I think Cleveland was without a team then, or maybe Baltimore).  Whoever it was, they supposedly had enough suites sold

.

Again, other posters can probably provide more info, but imit seems some of the things that made Ralph look cheap were out of his control...

Edited August 31 by haroldwaide

[ChasBB]

Not re-signing Ahmad Rashad is one move I remember.

Also, maybe not keeping Ron McDole.

 

I honestly cannot say if these were both cheap moves, but kind of felt like it (at least with Rashad) at the time.  Ralph won fans back by matching Broncos offer to free agent Bruce Smith.  He was pissed that the Broncos drove the price up so high on Smith, but Ralph did the right thing and kept him.

Edited August 31 by ChasBB
added info

[Matt_In_NH]

The origin is he was cheap.  Cash to the cap policy and many other things. 

[machine gun kelly]

He pinched pennies, finally opened up the pocket book in the late 80’s and 90’s as he finally wanted a championship.  It was the reputation of owners like Ralph, and Hugh Culverhouse (Bucs owner for 20 years) that was a part of why they not only created a spending cap, but a floor.  
 

On the flip side, he gave Al Davis $50,000 in the early 60’s as he needed the Raiders to stay afloat.  They made a big gamble on the AFL working and pushing the NFL to accept them.  It was aggressive moves like this and stealing talent from the NFL in those early drafts that forced the NFL owners merge the two football leagues.  Ralph was a historian and he named the Bills partially due to the failed Bills team post WWII.  Supposedly it was George Halas who did everything he could to keep the Bills out of the NFL (he thought the owners didnt have the funds to keep it going).  Ralph knew these foolish 8 would have to force the NFL to adopt them.

 

Ralph had so many chances to move the team, but chose to be loyal to the city of Buffalo, and to his home in Detroit.  When they sold his team, his will forced almost all the proceeds to be split between charities in Detroit and Buffalo.

 

One thing I always appreciated is he and other small market owners did everything they could to not let the Jerry Jones’ of the world to push them around and mandate the revenue sharing model that has made the NFL the most profitable sports industry in the world.  Soccer may have a bigger following, but continues to grow, and grow.

 

Soccer may have was he cheap, yes, and no.  I can confidently say the Bills wouldn’t be in Buffalo if not for Ralph.  For that I’ll always be grateful.  I grew up in Hamburg, and although living in Tampa longer than my first 22 years in Buffalo, I’m an unapologetic Buffalonian at heart.  I love the team, the city, the people, and the many traditions.

 

The Pegulas have reassured me they are in this for the long haul with bith the Bills and Sabres.  They are wealthy enough that they can afford Pegula Sports Industries, and for them this is a very profitable get fun hobby.

[May Day 10]

14 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

To be fair, Ralph had money but he wasn't the kind of rich that could afford to lose millions year after year. But yeah, he was cheap.

 

Pretty much this.  He wasn't the ultra rich, and much of his fortune was the Bills.  He also was the owner of a small market team.  He was a foremost proponent of the revenue sharing and cap system that we have today that has contributed to the nfl soaring in popularity.

 

He was always intimately involved, and there are anecdotes of him being a shrewd negotiator back to the 60s.  

 

During the drought, it was low hanging fruit to blame and repeat on forums like this.  The team wasn't talented overall, cash to the cap, and didnt spend big on execs and coaches.

[blitzboy54]

Post SB teams, he let every top tier free agent walk. Nate Clements and Antwon Winfield are great examples. He just thought you draft another guy. He let the team fall apart because of it. He was not really built to handle free agency. 

[oldmanfan]

Since I’m one of the few folks here who go back to 1960:

 

I think it probably started with OJ and being a hard ass about signing his after the draft.  Then he held the county’s feet to the fire in negotiations for Rich Stadium threatening to move the franchise elsewhere.  Then you have the Cousineau negotiation when he refused to offer him a contract in line with other first round picks causing him to leave (which ultimately got us Kelly when we traded Cousineau’s rights).  Then losing Knox.  As a general rule Ralph did not want to pay HCs much and always played hardball with first round picks.  It wasn’t until Polian became GM and told Ralph he’d never have an winner until he was willing to open the pocketbook that things changed.

 

Unlike other owners Ralph did not have a ton of $$ outside the actual Bills organization.  He was well off from his insurance business when he bought the team in 1960 but he wasn’t a gazillionaire off that.  So a lot of his $$ came from being the Bills owner.

 

The modern day NFL would not exist without Ralph.  He lent $$ to Al Davis to help keep the AFL afloat, which allowed the league to compete against the NFL with the draft wars which led to the merger.  Ralph led the negotiations for TV rights which ultimately made football the national game and made teams rich.  And he made sure small market teams did not get priced out of being able to compete.

Edited August 31 by oldmanfan

[Augie]

Ralph was cheap, but he wasn’t greedy. If he was greedy the Bills would be in another city now with a new name, and I would no longer follow the NFL.  

[Admiral Sean]

16 hours ago, eball said:

For me it started with not wanting to pay Chuck Knox and his coaching staff; ruined what the Bills were building and sent us into a 6-year tailspin until Polian and Levy arrived.

 

Yeah, agree with that but it started even before that. But the Knox crap is true. It wasn’t just Knox. During Knox’s time, Ralph refused to pay Tom Cousineau, Joe Cribbs and right after Knox left he let Jim Kelly slip away. 

[LewPort71]

46 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

 

 

The modern day NFL would not exist without Ralph.  He lent $$ to Al Davis to help keep the AFL afloat, which allowed the league to compete against the NFL with the draft wars which led to the merger.  Ralph led the negotiations for TV rights which ultimately made football the national game and made teams rich.  And he made sure small market teams did not get priced out of being able to compete.

 ^^^ This.

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 hour ago, oldmanfan said:

The modern day NFL would not exist without Ralph.  He lent $$ to Al Davis to help keep the AFL afloat, which allowed the league to compete against the NFL with the draft wars which led to the merger.  

Somebody tell Mark Davis that he can afford a real  haircut. 🤨

[Chandler#81]

17 hours ago, Professor Worthington said:

Just curious. Anyone know?

Rule #1, noobs should never be seen, let alone allowed to post.

 

its in the handbook

[JP51]

17 hours ago, eball said:

For me it started with not wanting to pay Chuck Knox and his coaching staff; ruined what the Bills were building and sent us into a 6-year tailspin until Polian and Levy arrived.

 

This^^^ plus cash to cap meaning he wasnt going to spend more in a season than the actual cap figure... no pushing out salaries to get players, not signing good coaches but cheap ones that were either new or mediocre position coaches/Co Ordinators... (Ringo, Stephenson, Bullough, Mularkey, Marrone, Jauron etc...) and not getting better available coaches...   I think what people need to remember is that Ralph was an extremely wealthy man... but he wasnt in a position to say money isnt an object... He didnt have the revenue or Pegula type money to sustain a non profitable or mildly profitable team... so he tried to make it work within parameters... a lot like Cincy does... 

[corta765]

OK so it goes something like this.

 

Ralph was notorious in his early days for not spending money on players, Lou Saban resigned in 76' because of how the contract with OJ was handled by Ralph. Chuck Knox left in 83' because of contract issues with Ralph and his unwillingness to sign vet players and instead reload with youth (sound familiar 2000s kids). The reason the Bills had the pick for Jim Kelly was because of the fact LB and 1st overall pick Tom Cousineau refused to sign with Buffalo which partially was due to Ralph's cheapness with players.

 

The player thing did change a bit but only when fans booed the hell out of him in either 84/85 season when he was on field for a presentation. The team was awful, Knox was gone, Kelly wouldn't sign, and the fans were over his cheapness. I only bring this up as my father was at the game and soon after things changed quickly as Kelly, Polian, & Levy came, but also Ralph finally relented with Polian getting the funds to make moves like the trade for Cornelius Bennett which the Bills had to pay larger then normal contract funds for.

 

When the 90's glory days came etc.. you could actually credit him for not being cheap at that point. Bruce Smith had a deal with Denver in I believe 91' and he matched it to keep him. But the frugleness did comeback in some capacity by the early 2000s between fighting to not pay Wade Phillips and then how they would develop guys and then let them go only to replace them in the draft. Some teams would've kept Antoine Winfield who became a stud corner AND paired him with a talented corner like Nate Clements... we just replaced them. The fighting to pay Wade's contract in retrospect is nuts though, imagine Mike Tomlin getting canned and the Rooneys saying were not paying your last year. In todays NFL that sounds nuts but it is basically what Ralph did with Wade. One of the more impactful drought moves that happened early was the Bills choosing Greg Williams over John Fox (lol) or Marvin Lewis. John & Marvin in 2001 offseason were the two top names and everyone figured Buffalo was grabbing one of them. At the time the Bills still had a strong reputation league wide so coaches didn't view Buffalo as Siberia, but Ralph again went with a cheaper option in Greg. It was constant moves whether coach, GM, or player in the 2000s like this where the team was playing with 70% of their hand instead of 100% that handcuffed the team. Jason Peters was found and developed by the Bills from TE into LT and he has become an all time LT who will go into the HOF. We traded him because we were too cheap instead of using him as a franchise cornerstone. By the time Ralph figured it out/relented as president he was too old, the teams long term future was in doubt, and Buffalo had become a doormat. The 2010 coaching search really was a sad thing because Ralph finally was ready to pay for a big name like Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan (went to WSH instead) and they said no thanks along with any of the top young names.

 

Overall Ralph was a decent owner (C+/B-) but a far better business man and league builder which is why he is in the HOF. When his vision as a business man mixed with the football side properly the team had success (60's/70's Lou Saban, Chuck Knox late 70/early 80's, 90's Bills) and he was on point with the league. But his pride absolutely got in the way too much which cost him with coaches/GMs and he had a habit for just not spending when he needed to for the betterment of the team especially in down times. The irony of the 2006 CBA was he and the Bengals owner Mike Brown voted against the CBA that was agreed upon as he felt it didn't protect small markets enough and was wayy too generous with players especially with rookie contracts. At the time he caught flak for it but the 2011 lockout which brought about some major changes in revenue and contract including a rookie wage scale found him on the right side of it for owners. Again for the greater good of the NFL he was routinely in the right, it is a shame with the Bills it felt more 50/50 a lot of the time. There is a different world for the Bills where if he spent just a bit more on coach or player they probably were more a team that was a regular playoff power and heck maybe they get a ring, then more spurts at moments which is what they were under him.

Edited August 31 by corta765

[mannc]

3 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

 

Pretty much this.  He wasn't the ultra rich, and much of his fortune was the Bills.  He also was the owner of a small market team.  He was a foremost proponent of the revenue sharing and cap system that we have today that has contributed to the nfl soaring in popularity.

 

He was always intimately involved, and there are anecdotes of him being a shrewd negotiator back to the 60s.  

 

During the drought, it was low hanging fruit to blame and repeat on forums like this.  The team wasn't talented overall, cash to the cap, and didnt spend big on execs and coaches.

Yep, the original AFL owners were not billionaire, titans of industry like in today’s NFL. They were mostly small-time entrepreneurs who were taking a big chance on a risky new venture.

 

Ralph owned a couple car dealerships in Detroit…he was certainly well-off, but he probably had most if not all of his net worth tied up in the Bills.  The players made well under $50,000 per year, and most had real jobs in the offseason.  It was a different world…

Edited August 31 by mannc

[Dunkirk Donski]

"Ralph is cheap" is a self attesting expression on which every law of logic stands or falls.  It cannot be contradicted due to the impossibility of the contrary.  

All of my insides sources have verified this. 

[US Egg]

He wasn’t the ideal owner, but fans should be forever grateful for Ralph. 

[Nihilarian]

What current Bills fans need to understand is that Ralph Wilson needed the Buffalo Bills to make a profit to keep the team in Buffalo. Other owners did also, and when they didn't, they needed to sell or move the team. Just ask the Browns fans about Art Modell, who in the dark of night moved his team to Baltimore.

 

Wilson had money but was very frugal, as were so many other NFL owners. The Cardinals owner would sit down and sign every player's paycheck in front of them. Like others have stated, different times.

 

Anyway, the biggest reason I can think of why Wilson got that title was that he hired Stew Barber as his GM, as this was during the Chuck Knox era. Knox didn't rely on that clown to draft or sign anyone. Knox made a deal with the 49ers to trade OJ Simpson to them for several draft picks. Including that 1979 #1 overall draft pick. 

 

(In 1979, the Buffalo Bills held the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft (acquired by trading away O.J. Simpson) and selected Ohio State All-American linebacker Tom Cousineau. At the time, former Bills AFL star Stew Barber was serving as the team's General Manager/Vice President of Administration.)

 

The relationship between the player and the front office imploded almost instantly due to several management blunders. The Standup:  After drafting Cousineau, Barber and team owner Ralph Wilson scheduled a dinner in Buffalo to welcome him and discuss his contract. According to Cousineau, Barber and Wilson never showed up to the hotel and never called to cancel. WTF! Travel Issues: The team also bungled the draft-day travel accommodations, failing to secure a flight ticket for Cousineau’s agent. BTW, the difference between what Buffalo offered Cousineau and what Montreal offered was like 200,000.00 up front. So he went to Canada. 

 

Stew Barber was a clown for a GM. 

 

Now, Buffalo drafted QB Jim Kelly, and after finding out how they treated that #1 pick in Tom Cousineau, Jim Kelly chose to go into the USFL. When Bill Polian was hired as GM, he finally persuaded the Buffalo owner to spend money to make money. Hence, Jim Kelly became the highest-paid QB in the NFL when he signed with Buffalo. 

[Jauronimo]

"Ralph is cheap!" is mostly a joke on this board. Every free agent signing in the league prompted a new thread complaining about not signing XYZ player and the conclusion was always that Ralph wouldn't spend. As if free agents were lining up to play for a bad Buffalo Bills team but we refused to match salary.  It was so tiresome that the more sane posters started using it ironically and attributing Ralph's cheapness to anything from not signing the most washed up has beens or nobodies of the league, to non-football matters in Buffalo, or even acts of God.  

[BBMB Poster]

The Cash to the cap philosophy and building the stadium in Orchard Park where the land was cheaper.  That started it.