A little more than two weeks after the death of Buffalo Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson, rumors continue to swirl about the future sale of the team. Thursday proved to be a busy day on that front.
For starters, musician Jon Bon Jovi - who had previously been linked to a future ownership of the Bills, months before Mr. Wilson's passing - is back in the news cycle for the same reason. John Kryk of The Toronto Sun spoke to Bon Jovi's publicist, who did not deny Bon Jovi's ambition to own a NFL club. Bon Jovi is worth $300 million, according to Forbes, so he'd need significant financial backing to become principal owner of the Bills - and he's believed to be backed by Larry Tanenbaum, chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
Meanwhile, over in Boston, Cam Neely, president of the NHL's Bruins, says that team owner Jeremy Jacobs "has no interest in getting out of hockey." The Buffalo News reported last weekend that the Jacobs family has expressed interest in buying the Bills, and as was noted then, the Buffalo-based businessman could effectively purchase the Bills while naming one of his sons principal owner to circumvent league rules prohibiting ownership of a NFL club by a pro sports owner in another NFL market. We can't cross the Jacobs family off the list quite yet, but it's clearer now that Jeremy Jacobs would not become the principal owner of the Bills.
Finally, as something of a footnote in a rather long and depressing ESPN feature by Pat McManamon, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz told McManamon that he knows of eight to 10 parties interested in purchasing the Bills, "half of whom have local ties."
The string of reports are merely the latest in what has been a surprisingly quick string of news and rumors about the sale of the Bills. We're keeping track of it all, as well as news about the New Stadium Working Group, in this StoryStream.