Buffalo listed as a franchise on the brink

[nucci]

The Vikes are losing money.

Losing money and being on the brink of whatever are two different things.

[nucci]

maybe Ralph should raise the prices by $5-$20

 

I don't mind

I would love to see the reaction if ticket prices were raised $20. I remember when parking went from $7 to $15.

[Kettle Creek Football]

The Team has NO DEBT! How the hell can it be "On the Brink?!?!?!?"

[May Day 10]

the list also features the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and NASCAR.

[VOR]

That dude's writing career is on the brink.

[Billistic]

The $ the Bills spent on players' salaries was about middle of the pack last year, and essentially at the cap limit.

 

Wilson has not been skimping on players' salaries.

 

That doesn't mean he's not semi-competent. In fact, it proves he's semi-competent.

[SF Bills Fan]

This is a stupid feature. The Bills are mandatory on lists like. They throw the Bills on there to round out the list. They have no idea about the Bills and the economics of the team. The stupidest statement is "Despite sellout crowds for every game last season, ticket prices remain stubbornly low". What is the correlation there? Would it not be more alarming if the stadium was half empty (with a continually bad team) and ticket prices were stubbornly high? Who writes this crap? Buffalo remains on the brink of bad reporting, is more like it.

 

P.S. In Toronto, ticket prices WERE stubbornly high and the stadium was not a sell out.

[The Senator]

I don't know about P-Town, Senator Craig. Why don't you reveal yourself and tell us all about it?

 

Not that there is anything wrong with it, but you seem to be the absolute "gayest" poster here.

 

Who the hell said anything about "gay"? Why would you even bring that up - unless, of course, you know far more about P-Town than you admit?

 

Just 'come out' and admit it - you want to be Brady's* boy toy.

[VJ91]

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Inves...slide-number=10

 

MSN is running a slideshow today of teams/franchises on the brink. Our Bills are one of them.

 

No kidding? MSN ranks the Buffalo Bills as a team on the financial brink? Wow, what other amazing revalations did they come up, that they don't think Obama's economic bail-out plan is working? That rising unemployment is a problem in the country today? That Lindsay Lohan is a nut-case? Man I will have to read MSN more often, they have such earth shattering stories like the Bills don't make a lot of money.

[Mr. WEO]

This is a stupid feature. The Bills are mandatory on lists like. They throw the Bills on there to round out the list. They have no idea about the Bills and the economics of the team. The stupidest statement is "Despite sellout crowds for every game last season, ticket prices remain stubbornly low". What is the correlation there? Would it not be more alarming if the stadium was half empty (with a continually bad team) and ticket prices were stubbornly high? Who writes this crap? Buffalo remains on the brink of bad reporting, is more like it.

 

P.S. In Toronto, ticket prices WERE stubbornly high and the stadium was not a sell out.

Simple Economics 101 is what is being suggested, bud. If the demand is high, the price should rise until demand decreases.

 

P.S. In Toronto, the prices were too high for the low demand. See how it works?

[JohnC]

Show me a link to that statement by Ralph.

 

The contract Ralph signed with the Toronto group was for $78 million, paid up front for 8 games, which included 5 regular season games and 3 preseason games. There are plenty of links which outline the Toronto contract. The team budget didn't increase. The money went directly to the sole owner of the organization. Who esle is it going to pocket it? I have no problem with that. He can profit as much as he can. More power to him.

 

But making a ton of money doesn't hide the fact that he presides over a failed organization in a system designed for parity. Over the past decade the Bills ranked 29 out of 32. That is a fact. The Bills have not made the playoffs in 9 consecutive years, and after this upcoming season it will be 10 consecutive years. Last years the Bills won zero games within their conference. How does that augur for this year's prospects for making the playoffs? The front office, led by Modrak and John Guy (both Donahoe hires) have been with the organization during their extended malaise period. Why are they still the primary personnel staff? What ever happened to the concept of accountability?

 

With respect to how much or little money the owner spends on the team, I don't give a dam. There is a simple way of judging success or failure in the NFL. Look at the bloddy record. By any measure this organization, led by an out of touch owner, is a dismal failure. As it has been stated: A definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

[VJ91]

The contract Ralph signed with the Toronto group was for $78 million, paid up front for 8 games, which included 5 regular season games and 3 preseason games. There are plenty of links which outline the Toronto contract. The team budget didn't increase. The money went directly to the sole owner of the organization. Who esle is it going to pocket it? I have no problem with that. He can profit as much as he can. More power to him.

 

But making a ton of money doesn't hide the fact that he presides over a failed organization in a system designed for parity. Over the past decade the Bills ranked 29 out of 32. That is a fact. The Bills have not made the playoffs in 9 consecutive years, and after this upcoming season it will be 10 consecutive years. Last years the Bills won zero games within their conference. How does that augur for this year's prospects for making the playoffs? The front office, led by Modrak and John Guy (both Donahoe hires) have been with the organization during their extended malaise period. Why are they still the primary personnel staff? What ever happened to the concept of accountability?

 

With respect to how much or little money the owner spends on the team, I don't give a dam. There is a simple way of judging success or failure in the NFL. Look at the bloddy record. By any measure this organization, led by an out of touch owner, is a dismal failure. As it has been stated: A definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

 

Great post.

 

Too many owners in major sports today are jealous ego-maniacs. They whine about how much more money the owners in bigger markets demand, while they may have more cash in the bank then those very owners they are jealous of for all any of us small market fans will ever know.

 

Now to me, that makes no sense. If you are already wealthy, and buy a sports team, your only goal should be to win that sports' championship year after year after year. Period. A few time over the past 50 years Wilson has allowed winning to become more important then how much money he wasn't earning, and it almost paid off into a SB Championship, or two. But then inevitably, the four men who were most responsible for the Bills coming close to Championships over the years, Lou Saban, (Lou won AFL Championships), Chuck Knox, Bill Polian and big John Butler all had falling outs with Ralph and losing followed all of their departures eventually. Then, the unfortunate hiring of Tom Donahoe was the worst "stepping aside" decision Wilson made. At least those other strong willed guys WON.

 

But all of the other many years Ralph accepted in some cases spectacular losing seasons, he was more obsessed with the money he was not earning compared to other owners. While he did some great things for the old AFL, and has been a smart advisor to the NFL for many years and deserves his place in the HOF after all this time, he still never shared the basic passion for winning that the father-son HOF team of Art and Dan Rooney shared from the just down the road in small market Pittsburgh. And if I was Ralph, watching the Steelers win 6 Lombardis while I never won a single one, would piss me off!

[VOR]

Great post.

 

Too many owners in major sports today are jealous ego-maniacs. They whine about how much more money the owners in bigger markets demand, while they may have more cash in the bank then those very owners they are jealous of for all any of us small market fans will ever know.

 

Now to me, that makes no sense. If you are already wealthy, and buy a sports team, your only goal should be to win that sports' championship year after year after year. Period. A few time over the past 50 years Wilson has allowed winning to become more important then how much money he wasn't earning, and it almost paid off into a SB Championship, or two. But then inevitably, the four men who were most responsible for the Bills coming close to Championships over the years, Lou Saban, (Lou won AFL Championships), Chuck Knox, Bill Polian and big John Butler all had falling outs with Ralph and losing followed all of their departures eventually. Then, the unfortunate hiring of Tom Donahoe was the worst "stepping aside" decision Wilson made. At least those other strong willed guys WON.

 

But all of the other many years Ralph accepted in some cases spectacular losing seasons, he was more obsessed with the money he was not earning compared to other owners. While he did some great things for the old AFL, and has been a smart advisor to the NFL for many years and deserves his place in the HOF after all this time, he still never shared the basic passion for winning that the father-son HOF team of Art and Dan Rooney shared from the just down the road in small market Pittsburgh. And if I was Ralph, watching the Steelers win 6 Lombardis while I never won a single one, would piss me off!

Fine. What are your thoughts on Dan Snyder? Would you say he doesn't want to win? Would you say he doesn't do all he can to win games? I mean, he's owned his team for over a decade now and his team hasn't even come close to making the SB.

[JohnC]

Fine. What are your thoughts on Dan Snyder? Would you say he doesn't want to win? Would you say he doesn't do all he can to win games? I mean, he's owned his team for over a decade now and his team hasn't even come close to making the SB.

 

You are missing the point of the prior post. Whether an owner spends a lot or little is not the issue. It is having the right organizational structure staffed by competent people who make smart decisions which leads to a successful organization. Our front office is mediocre. Our record is not surprisingly mediocre. The Redskins' owner gets involved in a lot of high spending and unsound free agent acquisitions. He gives away precious high draft picks so he can make his fantasy football decisions. The outcome is predictably poor.

 

When the Falcons were in disaray prior to last season because of the Petrino and Vick fiasco the owner brought in one of the top personnel people, Dimitroff, from the Pats to head the football operation. In his first season with the team they had an excellent draft, led by the Ryan qb pick, and they made good free agent pickups. The result was a playoff appearance in the first season under the new leadership.

 

Bill Parcells last year took over the Phins, a team which had the worst record in football. He thoroughly reshaped the roster, had a good draft and made a number of midlevel free agent acquisitions and brought in a quality coaching staff. The result was a team which went from being the worst team in the league record-wise to become a hard hitting team which made the playoffs in the first year under the Parcells's leadership.

 

What does the grumpy owner do when Marv Levy decides to step down as the team's GM? He elevates the marketing specialist, Russ Brandon, to lead the organization. How idiotic is that??? Where is the urgency to put someone in place who knows something about the NFL and football? When the Chiefs fired their GM last year they replaced him with Scot Pioli, the former GM of the Pats. Does anyone with an once of intelligence not believe that the Chiefs will in the not too distant future easily surpass the losing Bills?

 

The point I want to stress is that the issue is not how much or how little money is spent within the organization. The issue is competence. This organization has been struggling for a very long time. I blame the inept owner for creating this culture of mediocrity.

[JohnC]

This would be a good time for Ralph to sell all or most of the team if maximum recovery is his goal. Capital gains tax is still low at 15% and Obama and company want that to be increased significantly. The Dems also plan to reinstate estate taxes to the 45% level (above $3.5 million) reversing the estate tax exemption that is on the books now meaning that if Ralph were to die in 2010 or beyond, his family would have a tax bill triple the current capital gains tax rate. It's amazing that Democrats would feel entitled to tax revenue from inheritance at all let alone 45% but that's another matter. Expect Obama and the current congress to move quickly on that one once they get Obamacare done (another disaster in the making). Obviously not a great time to sell the team given the economy, but the tax advantages probably outweigh the discount price. I believe that he can then put those proceeds into an irrevocable trust which would shield his family from the estate taxes. Not an expert in this but I think that is the case. Someone else here might have a comment on that. For all we know he already has the irrevocable trust established which might mean it doesn't matter tax-wise when he dies and still owns the team.

 

The owner has clearly stated in his will that the team will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. He has also made it clear that he is not going to sell the team while he is alive. It is as simple as that. Don't waste your time with calculating the present capital gains tax compared to a later higher capital gains tax rate. Don't waste your time bothering with how the owner should structure his estate. He has made it clear that he, alone, is keeping the team while he is alive. He is not going to pass it on to any family member. The team will be sold to the highest bidder; whether it is moved or not is not a concern of his. He will be dead.

[VOR]

You are missing the point of the prior post. Whether an owner spends a lot or little is not the issue. It is having the right organizational structure staffed by competent people who make smart decisions which leads to a successful organization. Our front office is mediocre. Our record is not surprisingly mediocre. The Redskins' owner gets involved in a lot of high spending and unsound free agent acquisitions. He gives away precious high draft picks so he can make his fantasy football decisions. The outcome is predictably poor.

 

When the Falcons were in disaray prior to last season because of the Petrino and Vick fiasco the owner brought in one of the top personnel people, Dimitroff, from the Pats to head the football operation. In his first season with the team they had an excellent draft, led by the Ryan qb pick, and they made good free agent pickups. The result was a playoff appearance in the first season under the new leadership.

 

Bill Parcells last year took over the Phins, a team which had the worst record in football. He thoroughly reshaped the roster, had a good draft and made a number of midlevel free agent acquisitions and brought in a quality coaching staff. The result was a team which went from being the worst team in the league record-wise to become a hard hitting team which made the playoffs in the first year under the Parcells's leadership.

 

What does the grumpy owner do when Marv Levy decides to step down as the team's GM? He elevates the marketing specialist, Russ Brandon, to lead the organization. How idiotic is that??? Where is the urgency to put someone in place who knows something about the NFL and football? When the Chiefs fired their GM last year they replaced him with Scot Pioli, the former GM of the Pats. Does anyone with an once of intelligence not believe that the Chiefs will in the not too distant future easily surpass the losing Bills?

 

The point I want to stress is that the issue is not how much or how little money is spent within the organization. The issue is competence. This organization has been struggling for a very long time. I blame the inept owner for creating this culture of mediocrity.

Snyder hired a legendary coach in Joe Gibbs, who knew how to coach SB winners and pick players. He also hired Vinny Cerrato, who won a SB with the 49'ers in 1994. Yet despite the money spent on GM's, coaches, players, facilities, etc., he hasn't had much success. So what is it in the Redskins' case again? Maybe, just maybe, it's harder than you make it out to be.

 

And are you predicting a playoff appearance for the Chiefs this season? After all, they signed the main architect of the Patriots, Scott Pioli, to be their GM. Surely if Dimitroff was the reason for the Falcons' success, Pioli will have the Chiefs in the SB within a couple years.

 

Oh and as for Parcells, I guess he planned on the Jets signing Favre, releasing Pennington, and Brady being lost for the season. What do you think of their chances of making the playoffs this year?

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

Simple Economics 101 is what is being suggested, bud. If the demand is high, the price should rise until demand decreases.

 

P.S. In Toronto, the prices were too high for the low demand. See how it works?

Also taught in Econ 101 is price elasticity. That is the fundamental reason why Bills prices are kept low; Bills ownership and FO believe (right or wrong) that increases in ticket prices have a significant effect on demand, not a minor one.

 

Maybe you were out that day...

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

The contract Ralph signed with the Toronto group was for $78 million, paid up front for 8 games, which included 5 regular season games and 3 preseason games. There are plenty of links which outline the Toronto contract. The team budget didn't increase. The money went directly to the sole owner of the organization. Who esle is it going to pocket it? I have no problem with that. He can profit as much as he can. More power to him.

 

But making a ton of money doesn't hide the fact that he presides over a failed organization in a system designed for parity. Over the past decade the Bills ranked 29 out of 32. That is a fact. The Bills have not made the playoffs in 9 consecutive years, and after this upcoming season it will be 10 consecutive years. Last years the Bills won zero games within their conference. How does that augur for this year's prospects for making the playoffs? The front office, led by Modrak and John Guy (both Donahoe hires) have been with the organization during their extended malaise period. Why are they still the primary personnel staff? What ever happened to the concept of accountability?

 

With respect to how much or little money the owner spends on the team, I don't give a dam. There is a simple way of judging success or failure in the NFL. Look at the bloddy record. By any measure this organization, led by an out of touch owner, is a dismal failure. As it has been stated: A definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

When grumpy Ralph signed the sweetheart deal with the Toronto group he was asked by a reporter if he would use some of the canadian proceeds to invest in the team. The tight arsed owner chuckled and responded: Absolutely not. The clown owner doesn't know how (or desire) to run a winning organization, but at least he is honest, bluntly honest.

what happened to the link where Ralph told a reporter this? You did an awesome job deflecting that one...

[keepthefaith]

The owner has clearly stated in his will that the team will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. He has also made it clear that he is not going to sell the team while he is alive. It is as simple as that. Don't waste your time with calculating the present capital gains tax compared to a later higher capital gains tax rate. Don't waste your time bothering with how the owner should structure his estate. He has made it clear that he, alone, is keeping the team while he is alive. He is not going to pass it on to any family member. The team will be sold to the highest bidder; whether it is moved or not is not a concern of his. He will be dead.

 

Yes, we've all heard him say that. You believe everything you hear from him publically? I don't and he might change his mind given the change in the political climate and looming tax changes.

[JohnC]

Snyder hired a legendary coach in Joe Gibbs, who knew how to coach SB winners and pick players. He also hired Vinny Cerrato, who won a SB with the 49'ers in 1994. Yet despite the money spent on GM's, coaches, players, facilities, etc., he hasn't had much success. So what is it in the Redskins' case again? Maybe, just maybe, it's harder than you make it out to be.

 

And are you predicting a playoff appearance for the Chiefs this season? After all, they signed the main architect of the Patriots, Scott Pioli, to be their GM. Surely if Dimitroff was the reason for the Falcons' success, Pioli will have the Chiefs in the SB within a couple years.

 

Oh and as for Parcells, I guess he planned on the Jets signing Favre, releasing Pennington, and Brady being lost for the season. What do you think of their chances of making the playoffs this year?

 

When Snyder brought Gibbs back the team did improve. I beleive they made the playoffs. With respect to how the Chiefs will do this season under the leadership of Pioli I'm confident that the team will be improved and within a few years they will be consistent playoff competitors. There is no doubt that Pioli was an instrumental factor in the Pats success, the most successful franchise record wise over the past decade. Let me remind you that the Bills ranked 29 out of 32 during that same period. There is no doubt in my mind that Dimitroff was a major factor in the Falcons dramatic improvement. He hired the new HC (Smith), the team had a good first year draft under him and their free agent maneuvering was very productive. The running back they acquired in free agency from the Chargers was the catalyst for the offense.

 

Let's look at Parcell's record over his career. No matter where he has been in his long NFL journey he has successfully rebuilt teams, or significantlyy contributed to the rebuilding of teams. With the Giants he won two SBs. He quickly got the mediocre Pats into a SB, he did a good job redoing the Jets and he in short order rebuilt the downtrodden Cowboys into winners.

 

Without a doubt Parecells was very opportunistic in signing Pennington. If you believe that was the primary reason why the Phins, in one season, turned it around from the worst team to a playoff team, you are badly mistaken. More than half of the roster was turned over by Parcells. He brought in a new team of coaches and he completely restructured the front office.

 

No matter where Parcells has worked he has been instrumental in turning around a losing franchise into a winning franchise. One of the keys to his success is his ability to bring in quality quality people to help him in the coaching, scouting or front office areas.

 

The lunatic owner for the Bills has a marketing specialist, Russ Brandon, leading the organization. How does the marketing guru compare to the football experts such as Parcells, Dimitroff, Pioli etc? It's embarrassing. As I have stated in prior postings the issue isn't always about how much money you spend as much as it is about competency. Our owner is inept. There should be no surprise that his franchise is a failure on the field. Parcells has a saying: You are as good as your record is. The Bills record has been cosistently bad for a long time. You shouldn't be surprised. I'm certainly not.