Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

[Skooby]

This is not a health sympathy thread, let’s leave that out. Let’s discuss how the age / illness affect the team going forward, potential negative or positive events.

[Typ0]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

I do believe the owners are greatly effected by the grief associated with Mrs. Pegula's health as they should be. They are going to be very conservative right now and I can't fault them for that.

However, I don't buy into the move the team narrative. They had the chance and worked very hard to secure a foundation that would keep the team in WNY.

[Typ0]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

You had the move the team aspect as part of this thread before you edited it. Now I look off topic and am going to get lambasted!

[Skooby]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

I do believe the owners are greatly effected by the grief associated with Mrs. Pegula's health as they should be. They are going to be very conservative right now and I can't fault them for that.

However, I don't buy into the move the team narrative. They had the chance and worked very hard to secure a foundation that would keep the team in WNY.

Here’s the math 10 years from now, NFL team worth $15 Billion & the Bills spent $1.5 Billion on a stadium. A portable asset is worth 10 times more than the venue.

[TacklingDummy]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

Not worried about 10 years from now.

First I would be more worried Josh Allen opts out of his contract in 2026.

[kgun12]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

I believe Jessica talked about this in her article. She said that she was learning about the business and planned on taking over after her tennis career. I think she even said something like now I might have to think about doing this sooner rather than later. Makes me think there is already legal papers drawn up, i.e. a will.

[DraftBoy]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

Jessica Pegula will take the team over, not much here to discuss.

[notacon]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

Jessica Pegula’s essay was quite clearly a signal that she is, eventually, going to be taking over this franchise.

This kind of public expression detailing the most private and closely held family information was not done unilaterally. Almost absolutely the decision to publish this and what it said was a family decision.....calculated to put forth the narrative of just how the succession plan has changed in light of profound health issues to the younger co-owner.

Terry Pegula is 72 years old next month. Kim Pegula is 54. Since Kim had taken such an important and critical role within the Bills (and Sabres) organization as president, it was logical to believe that, as her husband aged, she would take an even more active role. Although there is no more “active” than president. Kim Pegula was, in fact, running the Buffalo Bills.

That is completely derailed now. This paragraph spells it out in vivid detail....

My mom is the president and owner of both the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills. She loved to work. She did everything and our family constantly told her how she needs to slow down and take time for herself. She was the woman behind my dad’s success and my dad would happily admit that. She jumped into this journey with him and learned many lessons along the way, breaking a lot of barriers. She was the shift in culture, positivity, and the heartbeat of many of the employees. She gave everyone so much of her time and effort. She lived it and loved it, and it was felt by everyone she met. Now we come to the realization that all of that is most likely gone. That she won’t be able to be that person anymore.

The next paragraph spells out the succession plan, again, in vivid detail....

My mom always wanted me to be involved, she wanted me to learn and eventually do what she was doing. She always told me to wait until after tennis was done. I would always press her to give me more responsibility, to let me be more involved, because I wanted to help. So now here I am, with my family, trapped in discussions about her care, caretakers, doctors, therapy and that which seemed like the least important, my tennis career. All of a sudden, your world gets flipped upside down and you have no idea what the f**k is going on. Our family is involved in a lot — the sports teams, businesses, investments, and my mom liked to be very hands on with it all. Of course, what came first was that it was a family tragedy. Now add on top of that all her responsibilities and it became extremely overwhelming for everyone involved. We try to be a private family, and it is hard going through something so horrible that seemed so public. My dad had to take on a lot of her responsibilities, which was hard for him, especially because the outcome of her health was still unknown. It felt like a massive void in the organizations, and obviously in our family. Then we come to the harsh reality of everyone else involved. Employees, fans, responsibilities, and many other details that needed to be dealt with. I won’t lie, I wanted to tell everyone to leave us alone. People acting like they should be privy to all our information. Even people we knew. I wanted to tell them all that you have no right knowing what happened, but at the same time people wanted to know because they were scared. Their leader, boss, friend, co-worker, all suddenly didn’t answer her phone, or emails, and all her meetings were canceled.

Suddenly, I went from “Let’s celebrate top 10 in the world” to “Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought?” “Does my dad and family need help?” “Maybe I should just go back to school and work for the family.” I am 28 and I take pride in being able to handle every situation thrown at me, but this was A LOT.

Yes, there is no doubt that Jessica Pegula will take the team over. It’s just a matter of exactly when.

[OpIv37]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

I agree with DB and nota that Jessica will eventually take over. It sounds like that was always her plan after tennis. Unfortunately, with Kim's health, that may happen sooner rather than later.

The questions I have are:

1. Is she capable of running the team effectively?
2. Is she committed to keeping the team in Buffalo?

I honestly don't know the answers. I know literally nothing about her, except that she's a good tennis player and what she said in the article she wrote about her mom.

[kgun12]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

I agree with DB and nota that Jessica will eventually take over. It sounds like that was always her plan after tennis. Unfortunately, with Kim's health, that may happen sooner rather than later.

The questions I have are:

1. Is she capable of running the team effectively?
2. Is she committed to keeping the team in Buffalo?

I honestly don't know the answers. I know literally nothing about her, except that she's a good tennis player and what she said in the article she wrote about her mom.

Excuse me did ya read my post, lol!

[Goobylal]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

Yup, it will be Jessica taking over. Born and raised in Buffalo. Not worried.

[Woodman]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

The questions I have are:

1. Is she capable of running the team effectively?

She has us.

[Goobylal]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

She has us.

To me that question is immaterial and at this point unknowable. The only point that matter is that she'll keep the team in Buffalo.

[ckg927]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

Yup, it will be Jessica taking over. Born and raised in Buffalo. Not worried.

"Could the team be handed down to the Pegula children, assuming they even wanted it? Only if the kids could pony up the federal estate tax, equivalent to 40% of the value of the team. That would come to...what, three, four, five billion dollars?" -Jim Heaney, Investigative Post, 1/16/23

[Woodman]

Re: Buffalo Bills successor planning thread….

I believe Jessica talked about this in her article. She said that she was learning about the business and planned on taking over after her tennis career. I think she even said something like now I might have to think about doing this sooner rather than later. Makes me think there is already legal papers drawn up, i.e. a will.

Sounds good to me.