As much as cities and fanbases fall in love with their NFL teams, the league is still a business at the end of the day.
It’s often tough for fans to deal with that when news breaks that reminds people of how cutthroat things can be. One of those reminders is happening in Buffalo, New York.
According to Sports Business Journal, the Bills are being sold to players in the private equity industry.
“A group of business executives with ties to the state of New York have a deal in place to buy 10.6% of the Bills alongside Arctos Partners, sources said, which will take 10% of the team if NFL owners approve the deal as expected.
“Both the Bills’ proposed transaction and the Dolphins’ plans to sell 10% to Ares Management — the first two deals permitted under the NFL’s new policy allowing institutional investment in teams — are on the agenda for Tuesday’s NFL finance committee meeting, indicating a high probability of winning final approval from owners in December,” reported SBJ.
The trouble with the sale is the private equity industry is known for gutting businesses and taking extreme measures to cut costs, which means winning may not remain the priority in Buffalo. Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Private equity groups ruin everything we love,” one fan said on Twitter.
“If Terry needs the money we would love for him to just go ahead and sell the (Buffalo Sabres),” one fan added.
“The new stadium went from The Pit to The Money Pit,” one fan added.
“This makes sense, given the amount of capital Terry’s spending on the new stadium and on KeyBank Center upgrades,” one fan added.
“Selling a piece of an NFL team seems silly unless you personally need a cash infusion, which oof if so,” one fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see what changes come in Buffalo as a result of the sale.
