Billionaire Bills owner Terry Pegula lines up succession plan for $3,700,000,000 franchise
Terry Pegula, who is worth $6.8 billion according to Forbes, has made succession plans for the Buffalo Bills following his wife Kim Pegula's heart attack two years ago. His daughter from his previous marriage, Laura Pegula, is set to take the reins of the team.
Kim and Terry Pegula purchased the Bills franchise in 2014 for $1.4 billion. However, in June 2022, Kim suffered a heart attack. Her assets were transferred into a trust, which Terry Pegula has to manage as per the court ruling in February 2023.
As per the NFL, each franchise must have a succession plan in place that must be submitted or amended every year. And Terry transferred a small amount of the Bills' shares to his daughter shortly after the court’s ruling. The Athletic states:
“Three days after Kim became Terry’s ward, Laura Pegula, Terry’s daughter from his first marriage, represented the Bills at NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix.
"Shortly thereafter, Terry transferred a small percentage of the Bills to Laura to satisfy a league policy that aids in succession planning.”
Kim and Terry Pegula have three children: Kelly, Matthew, and Jessica, who plays professional tennis. Kim has two stepchildren from Terry's previous marriage: Michael and Laura. The billionaire owner has not transferred shares of the Bills to any other children, as per The Athletic.
At this point, it is not known exactly how much of the ownership was transferred to Laura. The Pegula family and the NFL have declined to comment on this matter.
Where do the Buffalo Bills rank among the highest-valued NFL franchises?
Each of the 32 franchises in the NFL is worth upwards of several billion dollars. According to Forbes, the Dallas Cowboys top the chart with a net worth of $9 billion, while the Bills rank at the bottom of the table at No. 30 with a net worth of $3.7 billion.
The only teams below them are the Detroit Lions ($3.6 billion) and the Cincinnati Bengals ($3.5 billion). The defending champions and the conference rivals of the Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, are ranked at 23 with a net worth of $4.3 billion.