I understand that there a billions of dollars being thrown around to buy the team possibly at the highest dollar , but is it ultimately up to Mary Wilson who decides who gets the franchise?
I hope that she will honor her husband and grants his wish to keep the Bills here, by taking the money from a bidder like Pegula or anyone who wants to keep the team in Buffalo for a
reasonable price?
Let's Go Bills, make it happen!!!
I think 1.3 billion is more than enough of a reasonable price considering that the franchise is supposedly valued by Forbes for less than that.
better days (07-31-2014)
Terry Pegula is the X-factor in keeping the Bills here.
better days (07-31-2014),blackonyx89 (07-31-2014),Gilly (08-01-2014),ServoBillieves (07-31-2014),Zero (08-01-2014)
"When it is 4th down, go for it, Ralph will be up there helping"-Mary Wilson
Mrs Ralph Wilson seemed genuinely touched by the response of Bills fans to Ralph's death.
I believe she wants to keep Ralph's legacy alive in Buffalo.
blackonyx89 (07-31-2014),don137 (07-31-2014)
EXACTLY!!!Originally Posted by WagonCircler
Reality is that Terry is committing his resources to improving Buffalo, safely keeping the Bills in town is a major part.
I agree with this comment! I posted to see if someone possibly came in and wanted to make a higher bid than T-Peg. Does Mary have the right to say no to an out of town bidder who wants to take the Bills out of here?
Last edited by blackonyx89; 07-31-2014 at 08:54 AM.
It is not just her. There is a 4 person trust who decides. She is a member of the trust.
They are bound to the wishes of the estate and how the trust was established.
cookie G (07-31-2014),Dude (08-01-2014),Fletch (07-31-2014),jimmifli (07-31-2014),WagonCircler (08-01-2014)
pretty amazing that RW did this. The absence of bids from out of town is astonishing. There is language in there that stomps out the ability to move the team. $1.3B is a lot of dough....but it's not as much as $1.4B or $2B. When this is all said and done I'm going to make a cake that looks like a crow and eat it for certain.
I wonder what the tax situation is?
Fiat justitia ruat caelum. Noli timere. Laus Deo.
Basically the estate will pay capital gains on the sale of the franchise, based on its sale price or fair market value.
So, essentialy if it is bought for 1.3 billion the taxes will be on 1.3 billion - initial investment of $25,000
I wonder about the structure of the trust- - to what extend it shelters (probably not much, since it was established long after the value of the initial investment soared). CIN owner Brown beat the IRS by some sort of lending of shares. Joe Robbie's estate got slaughtered.
It's a fair assumption that she was involved in the drafting of those "wishes".
It's not like Ralph just posthumously sprung this on her like:
So it's fair to say her role on the trust is to represent Ralph's wishes and keep the team in Buffalo. But I doubt there is any opposition there, the other members of that trust are all (likely) fiercely loyal to Ralph as well. It sure looks like Ralph stacked the deck in favour of home town bids, time will tell.
Dr. Lecter (08-01-2014),WagonCircler (07-31-2014),YardRat (08-03-2014)
I agree. If the Bills move the legacy of RW will be forgotten in many circles. The new city will not care about what he accomplished and he just be remembered as one of the pioneers of the AFL.
He would become, posthumously or not, the Art Modell of Buffalo. Not quite as hated, but certainly forgotten. And there would be no "Baltimore" for him. He would be a footnote in the Toronto Whatevers history. And Mary wilson would be hated just as much as Modell in Baltimore or Georgia Rosenbloom in LA.
better days (07-31-2014)
But not forgotton in Bflo. We still (rightly) remember Lou Saban with fondness, it will be the same with Ralph.
Not if his family was responsible for letting the team go when they could have kept it here. Ignoring a bid of $1.3BIL (highest ever paid for an NFL franchise) to gain a few hundred thousand dollars, knowing that it would mean the team leaving would make the Wilson family more hated than Bethlehem Steel.
And ask any 10 people age 5-35 years old who Lou Saban is. I guarantee you 99% of them either won't know or will tell you that he's the Head Coach of the Crimson Tide.
You know, given the amount of times that this has both officially and unofficially been stated, you'd think that people here would have caught on at some point.
I guess not, I guess no matter how many times it's stated, officially, it just goes in one eye and out the other.
You can't have 99% of 10 people. You could probably ask 10 people age 5 - 35 to locate Iowa or Brussels on a map, and they couldn't do it.
This must be a very difficult day for you, Fletch. Watching your dreams of NFL Toronto whither and die, and all.
better days (07-31-2014),trapezeus (07-31-2014)
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