Hall of Famer Andre Reed has said, “F--k Bon Jovi.” Hall of Famer Jim Kelly is considering a different arrangement.
With the individual efforts of Kelly and rocker Jon Bon Jovi not producing much success when it comes to purchasing the Bills, the two parties have considered a last-ditch effort to win the franchise.
According to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News, Kelly and Bon Jovi have had conversations about joining forces.
Kelly and bond investor Jeffrey Gundlach reportedly have met with the trust responsible for selling the team, in the hopes of being matched with a group that has the cash to make the purchase. It’s unclear whether a Bon Jovi-Kelly arrangement would include Gundlach.
Even without him, an expanded collection of big-name partial owners runs the risk of too many voices steering the organization. Bon Jovi presumably teamed up with a pair of Toronto partners because he doesn’t have the cash to buy the requisite 30 percent of the team without financing. Kelly clearly doesn’t. So who would actually run the team?
Per Graham, it possibly would be Kelly. Jim and his brother, Dan, reportedly want two percent of the franchise, lifetime jobs, a cash payment up front for their services, and final say on all football decisions.
While that may seem like a large slice of a baked circular pastry hovering in the airspace above Western New York, aligning with Kelly could be the only way that Bon Jovi and company would have a chance to buy the team. So even though Graham reports that the Kellys possibly would give up the “final say” demand in order to climb into bed with Bon Jovi, they should hold firm.
Without Jim Kelly vouching for the intentions of Bon Jovi and the Toronto-based two, they’re not getting the team. So they can have the team and not have final say over football matters, or they can have a much improved chance at getting the team and not have final say over football matters.
It seems like a smart choice. Then again, “smart” isn’t something that the Bon Jovi group has been displaying much of.
UPDATE 6:45 p.m. ET: And the wife and daughter of Jim Kelly have both denied that Kelly would align with Bon Jovi’s group, via Twitter. And Tim Graham has doubled down, suggesting via Twitter that Jim should check with his brother on the issue.