NFL Rumors: Donald Trump tried and failed in $1,000,000,000 bid to buy Buffalo Bills
The Pegula family purchased the Buffalo Bills for $1.4 billion in 2014 and has owned the team since. According to Forbes' recent report, the franchise is currently valued at $4.2 billion.
As per a new report from Rolling Stone, former President Donald Trump tried to buy the Bills in 2014 with an offer of around $1 billion, but the deal fell through due to various reasons.
Rolling Stone reported that Trump faced off competition from Bon Jovi, who linked up with the owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Blue Jays to buy the NFL franchise.
Moreover, the former President reportedly inflated his net worth by billions to show the NFL that he was rich enough to buy a team. This was not the first time that Trump wanted to own an NFL franchise.
Back in 1988, he also tried to buy the New England Patriots but was advised against it because the franchise had debts over $100 million. In 1981, Donald Trump was part of the group that wanted to buy the Baltimore Colts.
Trump also rejected the opportunity to buy the Dallas Cowboys for $50 million before Jerry Jones bought the franchise. Had he made that investment, today Trump would have been the owner of the most valuable sports franchise in the world.
Donald Trump would not have run for president if he bought the Bills
As per Rolling Stone's report, Donald Trump would not have run for president had he bought the Buffalo Bills in 2014. A former associate of Trump said this about the situation:
“If he was doing that [owning and operating the Bills] and running that kind of a business, that would have been relatively new for him, I think it would have been hard for him to then put all his energy into running for president.”
Unfortunately, both Trump and Bon Jovi failed to buy the franchise despite their efforts. The Pegula family made a sound investment, and although the Bills are currently the third least valuable NFL franchise, the team's value will continue to increase.
The Bills have Josh Allen as their quarterback for the foreseeable future, and it would be surprising if he doesn't end up winning a Super Bowl with the team. Similar to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills' valuation is expected to skyrocket if they win a Super Bowl and have a successful run.