At least three initial bids for the Buffalo Bills were submitted by Tuesday's deadline and early indications are that the final sale price will be the highest ever paid for an NFL franchise.
Terrence Pegula, the owner of the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL, is one of three known bidders for the Bills, with his initial bid being "more than $1 billion" according to Josh Kosman of the New York Post.
One of the other known bids came from a group led by Jon Bon Jovi according to John Kryk of the Toronto Sun. It is unknown how much that group has bid initially.
The third bid came from Donald Trump. However, he recently told Fox News that "chances are very, very unlikely [that he'll win the bidding] because [he's] not gonna do something totally stupid."
Ultimately, the sale of the Bills will become a fight between the cities of Buffalo and Toronto.
Pegula has confirmed that he wants to keep the team in Buffalo (as would Trump). Bon Jovi's group is expected to move the team to Toronto if they win the bidding. A recent report revealed that Bon Jovi, who is backed by the Rogers family of Canada's Rogers Communications, has conducted a feasibility study which identified three potential sites for a new stadium in or near Toronto.
The trust of the late owner Ralph Wilson is expected to simply accept the highest bid regardless of where the new owner wants the team to play. This should keep the bidding somewhat in check as nobody will have to make a Steve Ballmer-like overbid of $2 billion or more.
