BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — When news broke Friday afternoon that Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula would explore the possibility of selling a minority stake in the organization, it got fans thinking, "Could we buy part of the Bills?"
WATCH: Buffalo Bills open to adding a minority stake owner; portion of team for sale
WATCH: Tim Graham speaks on Pegula's openness to sell a minority stake of the Buffalo Bills
“I think we should get together, organize, get our dollars and petty change in there. And start to have a say in things," says fan Zachary Reed.
We saw AJ Epenesa at Target we told him about the news and we told him that Bills Mafia would step up and buy 25 percent if that’s what we have to do," adds fellow fan Avery Eastman.
Zachary Reed and Avery Eastman weren’t the only Bills fans who saw the chance of their dreams coming true. All over social media Bills Mafia near and far saw this as a perfect opportunity to get their “seat” at the table.
But we hate to break it to you Bills Mafia it’s not that simple. As founder and president of Sportscorp Ltd. Marc Ganis explains, it's a really cut-and-dry reason.
“The NFL rules don’t permit large numbers of fans to buy into teams, doesn't permit small amounts to be purchased into teams," Ganis told 7 Sports.
But you probably thought at one point that Green Bay Packers fans own stock in their team. So why can’t Bills fans do that here?
That's because the Packers have an ownership model that was grandfathered in way back in the 1920’s. And that community-based ownership model, with more than 530,000 stockholders, doesn't come without its flaws in the modern day.
“There are some similar models in soccer in Europe. (FC) Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two that come to mind and those are the exceptions. But Barcelona is in deep financial trouble right now. It’s not even a model that works well in the current sports environment," said Ganis.
There’s also the NFL rule that sets the maximum amount of partners that can have ownership of a team at 25. So thousands of Bills Mafia members pitching in to raise money won’t work.
"But what can’t be done is one person coming in and representing 10,000 members of Bills Mafia and say I’ve got their money in and now I want to be an investor,"Ganis explains. "That doesn't work in the NFL. They look through that to what the source of the capital is.”
Something to remember is whether it’s one person or a small group that shows interest in minority ownership of the Bills. They have to see the team as not just a way to make money but as a partnership that will help the team stay competitive in the rapidly growing NFL landscape.
"Whoever comes in has to be comfortable with the Bills financial situation and has to be comfortable with the future of the NFL and the Bills," added Ganis. "And has to be comfortable with Terry (Pegula) being the controlling owner making all the decisions.”
