... read this article about Bob Kraft.
The Patriots were 14-50 in the first 4 years of the 1990's, their season ticket base had dwindled to 20,000 and they were last in the NFL in revenue. They were purchased by St. Louis-based James Busch Orthwein for the purpose of moving the team to St. Louis (where a new stadium awaited). They were as good as gone.
The only thing that was in the way of them moving was Bob Kraft, who owned Foxboro Stadium. He had a lease with the Patriots that would have required $75M to buy out. Rather than taking the money and cashing out, he made a $172M offer for the team (at the time the highest paid for a U.S. sports franchise) and kept them in NE.
The key ingredient for having a top NFL franchise is the owner.
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