why doesn't the NFL just

[trapezeus]

award a new set of owners a franchise in buffalo. let the free markets settle it. the owners of the other 32 teams get a cash windfall (including ralph). The new buffalo team sets up shop alternating games at the ralph.

the new team promises a winning tradition, hires competent staff and runs a tight salary cap.

the bills continue to do what they do.

guess which team gets moved to LA during ralph's death. guess which team is bought at pennies since it is not even close to being profitable and there is only one buyer. guess which city got a team dedicated to winning.

nfl gets two teams, still pockets $1bn and puts a team in LA. and it gets one of its best fan bases truly interested in football again.

[ChristopherWalken]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

I like the thought but I'm willing to bet this would violate franchise owner zoning privileges.

I bet Ralph and his lawyers would love that.

[trapezeus]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

i figured there has to major reasons, but the NFL is suffering as a whole because of this incompetence. The revenue sharing on the seats is seats only. not box seats. so when the stadium was at 80,000, they could be more useful to the other owners. now, they have a smaller stadium AND contribute less.

The city of buffalo is shrinking dramatically. the surrounding areas are only down a little. We can support an 80k stadium if the team was good.

if you gave us a team, even if it failed trying, we would love it compared to what we are going through now.

[trapezeus]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

also, thanks for not taking a giant **** on the idea, walken.

[BillsFanCupp38]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

Aren't the Packers owned by the fans? Why couldn't that happen in Buffalo?

[ddaryl]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

Aren't the Packers owned by the fans? Why couldn't that happen in Buffalo?

as soon as Packers fan managed that coup the NFL changed the rules to ensure that never happens again

[ddaryl]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

award a new set of owners a franchise in buffalo. let the free markets settle it. the owners of the other 32 teams get a cash windfall (including ralph). The new buffalo team sets up shop alternating games at the ralph.

the new team promises a winning tradition, hires competent staff and runs a tight salary cap.

the bills continue to do what they do.

guess which team gets moved to LA during ralph's death. guess which team is bought at pennies since it is not even close to being profitable and there is only one buyer. guess which city got a team dedicated to winning.

nfl gets two teams, still pockets $1bn and puts a team in LA. and it gets one of its best fan bases truly interested in football again.

Buffalo is not Chicago LA or NYC... they cannot support 2 teams here.

plus its a 32 team league.. no room for a 33rd team

Nope we simply must wait for Ralph's inevitable end... The over under says it could happen right ..... NOW...... or right ....... NOW...

>
>>
>>>

>>>> NOW

[Ickybaluky]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

Yes, I am sure the NFL is going to look into putting a 2nd team in one of their smaller markets where the existing team already has the lowest ticket prices in the league.

[BLeonard]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

award a new set of owners a franchise in buffalo. let the free markets settle it. the owners of the other 32 teams get a cash windfall (including ralph). The new buffalo team sets up shop alternating games at the ralph.

the new team promises a winning tradition, hires competent staff and runs a tight salary cap.

the bills continue to do what they do.

guess which team gets moved to LA during ralph's death. guess which team is bought at pennies since it is not even close to being profitable and there is only one buyer. guess which city got a team dedicated to winning.

nfl gets two teams, still pockets $1bn and puts a team in LA. and it gets one of its best fan bases truly interested in football again.

Well...

1: There would then be 33 teams, meaning we'd have a team on the bye every week... Like they did from 1999 to 2002, when they had 31 teams.

2: Fans of the Cincinnati Bengals would then want similar treatment... maybe some fans of other teams, too.

OK, those were kind of tongue-in-cheek reasons.

What the fans need to realize is that the NFL isn't about football... It stopped being about football a long time ago. The NFL (and the teams that mke up the NFL) is a business. Remember a month ago, when they were all arguing over how to split $9 billion dollars? That's $9 billion dollars of FANS' money that they are talking about... Now, that the lockout is over, the Buffalo Bills BUSINESS has decided to keep the team's salary $20 plus million under what the spending limit is. So basically, they want your money, but instead of improving the product, they choose to keep things status quo and pocket the extra coin. After all, if they're making money, why change?

You want the BS to end? Treat the Bills (and the NFL) as they REALLY are: A BUSINESS. The "restaurant" analogy is used a lot. if you go to a restaurant and the service is substandard, do you go back? That's a little simplistic, so I came up with another analogy.

Think of the Bills as a new movie. To see it, you're gonna have to pay $8 since that's what the theater charges for a new movie... Now, you go and the movie sucks. Do you pay the $8 again to see the second movie? You'd probably go to a matinee (reduced price) or wait for the DVD (rebroadcast/highlights).

In this case, the "matinee" would be a cheaper way to see the game. Personally, I go to a bar, pay for food, enjoy the company I'm with and spend maybe $30 a week. But, it's a lot cheaper than going to the game, paying for a ticket, paying for parking, paying for concessions, etc. Also, if you watch at a bar, your money isn't going directly into the Bills' (Ralph's) pocket... let's face it, the bar's gonna have Sunday Ticket whether you're there or not.

Enough people stop going to the restaurant, they have to lower prices or up their quality... And, for those who are afraid the team will move if you don't buy seats? Well, who wants to eat at a bad restaurant, or pay full price for a bad movie?

Bottom line: The NFL keeps telling us "it's a business." Make them start acting like it and investing in it, like good businesses do.

-Bill

[BLeonard]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

Yes, I am sure the NFL is going to look into putting a 2nd team in one of their smaller markets where the existing team already has the lowest ticket prices in the league.

Do you know WHY they have the lowest prices? I'll give you a hint: it's not because Ralph's a nice guy.

http://www.erie.gov/billslease/stadium.phtml

Read their lease with the stadium... if the tix are above the NFL average, they pay rent for the stadium. Low tickets ensure they come nowhere near the average, so their stadium is rent-free.

-Bill

[bf1]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

LETS PULL A LIBYA/EGYPT AND TAKE THIS MOTHER****ER OVER BY FORCE!!!!

[trapezeus]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

the point is precisely that Buffalo can't support two teams. You'd put the screws on Ralph to shape up or ship out. You'd be killing his team's value merely because the crap he runs will not be able to stand up to a team trying to win.

And when no one comes through the front door for ralph, he'll have a cash problem and he'll have to sell. The problem for ralph is that there is only one buyer and they know you can't sit it out while the other team is doing well.

The NFL profits from this because they charged the new buffalo owner $600-700MM to have a team. They can make that discount because when ralph sells to the NFL for $300MM, they can revenue share back financing with the new LA owner. And the LA owner who just spent a cool $1.5-2BN in new stadium design, gets to push the lump sum payment over several years.

Buffalo keeps its team with new ownership, a message has been sent to all owners that hoarding money and not even trying to win isn't going to work, and the LA ownership gets the team on the cheap and gets to build the superstadium he wants to build.

Mike brown would quiver in his feet. It'd be worth it.

but like walken said, there probably bylaws that stop this from happening.

[BLeonard]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

the point is precisely that Buffalo can't support two teams. You'd put the screws on Ralph to shape up or ship out. You'd be killing his team's value merely because the crap he runs will not be able to stand up to a team trying to win.

And when no one comes through the front door for ralph, he'll have a cash problem and he'll have to sell. The problem for ralph is that there is only one buyer and they know you can't sit it out while the other team is doing well.

The NFL profits from this because they charged the new buffalo owner $600-700MM to have a team. They can make that discount because when ralph sells to the NFL for $300MM, they can revenue share back financing with the new LA owner. And the LA owner who just spent a cool $1.5-2BN in new stadium design, gets to push the lump sum payment over several years.

Buffalo keeps its team with new ownership, a message has been sent to all owners that hoarding money and not even trying to win isn't going to work, and the LA ownership gets the team on the cheap and gets to build the superstadium he wants to build.

Mike brown would quiver in his feet. It'd be worth it.

but like walken said, there probably bylaws that stop this from happening.

So... What happens when the new owner realizes he can do the same thing Ralph has done for over 50 years and still pull an insane profit? How many teams is the NFL gonna give Buffalo?

I like your thinking, don't get me wrong, it's just that NFL teams aren't owned by rich fans, for the most part. They're owned by rich BUSINESSMEN and businessmen do everything they can to maximize profits while minimizing how much they have to pay to get that profit. If the customers allow them to spend less to maximize their profits, then they see that as "good business."

Customers stop buying, that's when they change the menu.

-Bill

[trapezeus]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

i don't think that's a genuine argument in terms of how many times can the NFL do it. it's meant to be like a nuclear option.

but you bring up a good point, how do you stop the second group from replicating the Ralph model. I don't know. it takes vetting that owner. and in the end, it's just that ralph spends his money very poorly. you can run a team $20MM under cap with a great scouting staff. and then take your shots at max cap when it looks like it's close. he's just too old to do it and has a group of guys who have clearly benefitted from this way of thinking for so long.

[BLeonard]

Re: why doesn't the NFL just

he's just too old to do it and has a group of guys who have clearly benefitted from this way of thinking for so long.

I wanted to highlight this quote, cause I had a thought...

What if part of Overdorf/Littman's retirement packages hinge on the sale price of the franchise.... Think they'd want to keep costs as low as possible?

-Bill