January 9, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Boston Bruins owner and governor and chairman of the NHL board of governors Jeremy M. Jacobs addresses the National Hockey League lockout during a press conference at the Westin New York in Times Square. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Bruins’ Ownership Could Pursue Bills’ Void
The Buffalo Bills may be reaching into the New England sports pool to find their next owner.
Based on a report from The Buffalo News, the Jacobs family, is a top a list of potential buyers of the Buffalo Bills franchise.
Forbes.com states that the Bills are worth $600 million as of November 13, 2013. Former owner Ralph Wilson passes on March 25, and his wife Mary Wilson has taken the reigns as the team’s primary owner. The Bills have a long-term lease that should to hold the team in Buffalo for five more years.
Boston Bruins‘ owner Jeremy Jacobs, Sr. is the CEO of Delaware North, one of the world’s leading concession companies. His net worth falls around $3.1 billion. The firm is based in Buffalo, so you could begin to think that Jacobs would be interested in becoming a part of the hometown Bills.
However, NFL regulations prevent an owner of a team in a different sports league from investing in a football franchise, unless that “other team” is located in the same city.
So, Jacobs could very easily bid for the Bills if he owned the Buffalo Sabres. That’s not the case.
But if his sons remove themselves from any affiliation with the Bruins, they could legitimately be granted access to purchase.
One has to assume that the Jacobs family would love to have the Bills under their belt, considering the franchise’s importance to its city.
Supposing that he was forced to give up the Bruins to gain possession of the Bills, it’s unlikely that he would pursue the NFL avenue.
Other candidates for Bills’ ownership include entrepreneur Donald Trump, Sabres owner Terry Pegula, and former Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano.