Report: Terry Pegula May Have Interest In Buying Buffalo Bills

A report from Bucky Gleason at The Buffalo News, citing sources close to prospective Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula, indicates that Pegula may have future interest in buying the Buffalo Bills.

News broke earlier this week that Pegula, 59, had signed a letter of intent to purchase the Sabres for $150 million. The Sabres have since refuted the report, but the latest reports indicate that current Sabres owner Tom Golisano is undecided on an offer from Pegula that may be closer to $175 million.

As Gleason points out in his profile of Pegula, if the sale of the Sabres came through at $175 million, it'd represent just 5.8 percent of Pegula's total net worth, which exceeds $3 billion. Gleason reports that Pegula's true passion is Sabres hockey, but that Pegula is a Bills fan "with a fondness for the Detroit Lions". Gleason writes: "Without getting too far ahead, sources said, he would be very interested in buying the Bills after the passing of owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr., now 92, if enough variables fall into place."

Were Pegula to acquire the Sabres at any point, he'd still be eligible to purchase the Bills. NFL rules only prohibit ownership of one of its football teams by another pro sports owner if said owner's other team is out-of-market.

Bills founder and owner Wilson turned 92 on October 17. Whether or not the Bills will remain in Buffalo once Ralph moves on has been a point of great anxiety for Bills fans for years. Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly has repeatedly insisted that he's got financial backing to do what he can to keep the Bills in Buffalo beyond Wilson's era, but if these Pegula sources are accurate, he represents the most legitimate figure that could keep the Bills in Buffalo yet.

With that said, we'd like to re-iterate two things: Pegula is more interested in the Sabres, and his reported interest in the Bills is far closer to speculation than it is to something tangible. Keep this in perspective.