# Should the NFL allow Donald Trump to purchase the Buffalo Bills? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426 "2014-04-18T16:56:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/41 "2014-04-21T15:27:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The _NFL_ is a partnership. The Buffalo Bills are not.\* The NFL can’t stop Trump buying the team; they can only refuse to allow the Bills to compete in the league. All team sales (and moves) must be approved by a three-quarters majority of the other NFL owners. I think all of the major sports leagues in North America work the same general way. [Here are some more details on the Bills’ situation and why they’re not likely to be sold or move any time in the near future.](http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/what8217s-next-for-the-bills-for-now-the-team-will-be-controlled-by-a-trust-20140325) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/42 "2014-04-21T15:50:17Z")
Right, but the Buffalo Bills are a wholly separate entity from the NFL and there is nothing the owners can do to prevent the sale other than threaten to eject the team from the league. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/43 "2014-04-21T16:01:23Z")
If 75% of the owners don’t approve the sale, there is no sale. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/44 "2014-04-21T16:24:25Z")
There is no way to enforce that rule except locking the new owner out. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/45 "2014-04-21T17:54:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > There is no way to enforce that rule except locking the new owner out. I guess that’s true but pretty irrelevant since a potential buyer would never fork over the money until approved by the league. It’s kind of like a player trade that’s been rejected by the commissioner of a sport. The teams could still make the trade. The only problem is that the players wouldn’t be allowed to play. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/46 "2014-04-21T18:03:16Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That might sound like a pretty hefty stick, but in reality there’s no way on earth the league would shut out **one of its founding franchises.** Bolding mine. [Wikipedia’s History of the NFL.](Wikipedia’s History of the NFL.) > [@](#): > > Only two teams currently in the NFL, the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals), are founding members.[1] The Green Bay Packers, founded 1919 (joined the NFL in 1921), is the oldest NFL franchise in continuous operation with the same name in the same location.[2] ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/47 "2014-04-21T18:24:29Z")
:smack: I should have said one of the original merger teams. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/48 "2014-04-21T18:44:57Z")
While I think Donald Trump is a rather obnoxious character, I wouldn’t have any serious objections to letting him buy the Buffalo Bills… PROVIDED he actually has the money to do so! I’m not entirely convinced he DOES have the ready cash to buy the team. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/49 "2014-04-21T19:18:07Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I guess that’s true but pretty irrelevant since a potential buyer would never fork over the money until approved by the league. > > It’s kind of like a player trade that’s been rejected by the commissioner of a sport. The teams could still make the trade. The only problem is that the players wouldn’t be allowed to play. Right. Still, this appears to be kind of academic, so I’ll stop insisting on it. Also, I’m not sure what it takes to really get rejected by the league. Several times, sports leagues have allowed heavily-indebted guys to buy teams only to see it go badly. Being rich on paper appears to be good enough. > [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > I don’t have the slightest clue why this keeps working, but it does, so he’s either a marketing genius, or else riding the edge of a very interesting sociological whirlpool effect. It doesn’t work nearly as well as it used to. [Read this](http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/36-hours-on-the-fake-campaign-trail-with-donald-trump) and laugh and laugh and laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/50 "2014-04-21T19:55:44Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > While I think Donald Trump is a rather obnoxious character, I wouldn’t have any serious objections to letting him buy the Buffalo Bills… PROVIDED he actually has the money to do so! > > I’m not entirely convinced he DOES have the ready cash to buy the team. Nobody (well, hardly anyone) has the cash to buy an NFL franchise outright. Trump, like most team “buyers”, is the head of a syndicate formed specifically to purchase the team (or at least he claims to be.) ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/51 "2014-04-21T19:57:21Z")
I think the controversy around Trump being a distraction to the NFL would be the biggest impediment to his bid for ownership. The NFL takes its brand very seriously and does not like things that distract from or harm its image. Same reason they did not like Rush trying to buy into the Rams when Georgia Fontiere died. They do not want an owner whose non-football life would impact the NFL. Jerry Jones/Al Davis/Art Modell were OK because they noteriety/infamy came within Football; Halsem/York/Irsey became a problem because thier life outside Football started inmpacting the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/52 "2014-04-22T00:47:34Z")
Does it really matter who owns the team? I have no idea who owns most of the NFL teams. When I watch football, I watch it to watch football. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/53 "2014-04-22T00:53:34Z")
That’s likely by design, the anonymity. Sure, there are a handful that are well known, but most are unknown outside their own teams’ fan base. The NFL is a huge racket, IMHO, and their owners would rather keep everything discreet. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/54 "2014-04-22T12:13:35Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It doesn’t work that way in any sport. Ask the Seattle NBA group. Come to think of it I don’t think it works that way in any business. Of course that’s the way it is. I don’t like that very much. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/55 "2014-04-22T14:33:14Z")
Trump can announce that he’s interested in buying the Bills, but so what? It takes two parties to sell the team, and to my knowledge the Ralph Wilson Estate or trust or whatever, which owns the team, hasn’t agreed to either sell it to Trump or even started to negotiate a sales price with Trump or with any other potential buyer. As I and others have said, Trump is just horning in his usual attention-whoring manner, with a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/56 "2014-04-23T03:16:43Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Right, but the Buffalo Bills are a wholly separate entity from the NFL and there is nothing the owners can do to prevent the sale other than threaten to eject the team from the league. I think it would depend on the terms of the NFL partnership. If each owner has agreed, as a condition of the partnership, not to sell their team without approval from the NFL, then the NFL may well be able to seek injunctive relief to bar an unauthorised sale. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/57 "2014-04-23T04:14:36Z")
I guess what the question comes down to is, why shouldn’t Trump buy the Bills? What’s the objection to it? I mean, I guess, hypothetically, he could move the team, or trade off all of the players he doesn’t think are natural born citizens or whatever, but in practice, whatever you think of Trump as a person, I don’t know that the Buffalo Bills under Trump would be all that different than the Buffalo Bills under Ralph Wilson. It’s probably profitable to own an NFL team, but I don’t know if the owner has much impact. Does he? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426/58 "2014-04-23T05:26:10Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I guess what the question comes down to is, why shouldn’t Trump buy the Bills? What’s the objection to it? The more pertinent question is why Trump _couldn’t_ buy the Bills. The other owners have to approve of the sale, and it’s unlikely that they would choose his ownership group over another with (quite possibly) deeper pockets and not any of the baggage of The Donald. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-nfl-allow-donald-trump-to-purchase-the-buffalo-bills/686426.md?page=2)