Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

[bdutton]

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mlm45ekfed/30-buffalo-bills/

Not bad considering the franchise was started with what... $50,000?

They still have us ranked 3rd from last in the league at number 30.

No surprise there I guess.

[X-Era]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mlm45...buffalo-bills/

Not bad considering the franchise was started with what... $50,000?

They still have us ranked 3rd from last in the league at number 30.

No surprise there I guess.

I think it's been around there for years... I seem to remember that being about the same valuation as about as much as 10 years ago.

[Guest]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

Not bad considering the franchise was started with what... $50,000?

$25,000 in 1960.

I bet that piece of crap has it borrowed against so that is why it has to be sold when he thankfully dies.

Has he made any money outside of the Bills?

Oh, remember he wanted the AFL Miami franchise, did not get it and was disappointed he only got Buffalo?

Can you imagine if he would have survived with his incompetence in Miami?

[trapezeus]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

i thnk the last 10 years it was valued at 650-770mm...$850 is a high number, but i think it's unfair that tampa and miami and all these other teams with low turnout get the valuation. because they are hurting for ticket sales. yeah, they have potential if they can get the fan base excited, they have a bigger pie to exploit. but with fanbases being more nationally spreadout, i think if you build a strong brand, peopel buy the gear, come to the games, etc.

i think buffalo should get a valuation in the middle of the NFL teams while teams with no brand and low fan support, should be valued a lot less.

[Parzival]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

Pocket change.

[Saratoga Slim]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

Pocket change.

Maybe he'd accept ZoneBux?

[Meathead]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

ralph is loaded and cheap

[Pinkerton Security]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

If we got a new stadium somehow that number would double. Even the renovations should help raise that number, I would assume.

[Guest]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

If we got a new stadium somehow that number would double. Even the renovations should help raise that number, I would assume.

That somehow will only happen when the new owner puts a gun to the County's head with the support of the NFL owners that a new stadium must be built mostly with public funds by year 8 of the new lease (when the buyout provision takes effect) or the team will relocate.

[Dozerdog]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

If we got a new stadium somehow that number would double. Even the renovations should help raise that number, I would assume.

Only if the team owned the stadium. The Redskins, Patriots and Cowboys are some of the most expensive franchises in sports, not just the NFL, because they own the building as well

[Dozerdog]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

And that is also driven by other uses of the stadium. Buffalo is tough because using the facility more than 20-25 times a year would be a challenge. ( that includes NFL games)

[Saratoga Slim]

Re: Buffalo Bills valued at $850 million according to Forbes

The second and more telling aspect of the business in terms of how we're able to operate between now and whenever Ralph sells is profitibility. On that metric, according to this article the Bills made an operating profit of $12.6 million last year. Compare that to the Cowboys, who pocketed $250M, or the Patriots at $139M.

As expected, we're securely in the bottom 5 in terms of profit. But it's not purely a market thing; San Fran actually made less money, and Detroit LOST $3.5M. Things like wages and stadium costs can outpace revenues even if you make a lot more. And if you don't make a lot, obviously the margins are going to be even tighter.

Any way you cut it, it puts some perspective on what the team is able to do with wages, as well contribute towards a new stadium. Would be interesting to know if that's a standard operating profit for the Bills.