This is going to be a FAQ in the next few weeks and months so we might as well answer it here:
How any bills does it take to buy the Buffalo Bills? It depends on the bill. It takes 200 million five-spots and 10 million C-notes.
Jon Bon Jovi can answer. It's a trick question though. First you have to translate the amount into Canadian dollars. Do the math, carry a few ones and 10.7 million Canadian C-Notes totals 1.07 billion CADs.
In recent years, Bon Jovi has been quietly milliing around the Bills franchise. In the wake of Ralph Wilson's passing in March, Bon Jovi has emerged as the frontman of a group including Larry Tanenbaum and Edward Rogers that's bidding on the Buffalo Bills. Reportedly, it could cost them an arm and a leg.
In 2013, Forbes valued the Bills at $870 million, which ranked 30th out of the NFL's 32 teams. However, the possibility of Buffalo moving to Los Angeles or permanently relocating to its part-time home in Toronto could be driving that price tag up $200 million or so.
Bon Jovi has never discussed moving the team if he were to buy them, but there is cause for concern.
The New Jersey native is only an equal stakes owner of the Bills with his two other partners. Tanenbaum is is a Toronto native and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Tanenbaum's also a Governor of the NBA's Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs and MLS' Toronto FC. Rogers is deputy chairman of a Toronto communications giant. Because NFL ownership rules preclude joint ownerships, the expectation is that Bon Jovi would be the controlling owner.
The Buffalo Bills' attempt to unseat the New England Patriots from their 14-year nest atop the AFC East will be a prominent storyline in the short-term, but the battle royale for ownership of the Buffalo Bills is just as compelling.
Bon Jovi's group will be competing with current Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula and former Sabres owner Tom Golisano to buy the Bills, whose lease with Ralph Wilson Stadium will keep them in Western New York until the end of the 2019 season when the $400 million penalty for breaking that deal becomes a more manageable $28.4 million. One additional news item is that Bon Jovi's group has retained Goldman Sachs to handle their bid. So take their word with a grain of salt.
