As the process of selling the Buffalo Bills ramps up, the numbers likely will be large.
Sal Paolantonio of ESPN says that the franchise is expected to sell for at least $1.1 billion. That’s considerably higher than a recent valuation from Forbes of $870 million, although the presence of name Forbes gives what amounts to speculation and guesswork plenty of caché.
The final price hinges in large part on the still-unknown mandate of the trust that will be responsible for selling the team. If expected to get the most possible money without regard to the potential for relocation, a group that would eventually Mayflower its way to L.A. could be willing to pay a lot more than $1.1 billion. If expected to find an owner that will keep the team in Buffalo, the number will be lower.
Few expect the team to move. The final purchase price, along with the identity of the purchaser, will go a long way toward allowing a full assessment of whether the perfunctory “we have no intention to move the team” can be believed.
In the end, the team will be sold for whatever someone decides to pay for it. That’s what any asset or person ultimately is worth. With only 32 seats at the most exclusive table in sports and plenty of folks who disagree with the notion that the only thing better than being rich and famous is being rich and anonymous, someone will be forking over much more than $1.1 billion for the Bills.