Kemp, Cuomo unlikely to buy Bills

Jul 28, 2008 - 9:15 PM PITTSFORD, New York (Ticker) -- If Ralph Wilson or his heirs decide to sell the Buffalo Bills, Jack Kemp and Mario Cuomo are unlikely to become the new owners.

Kemp, Cuomo and a group of investors are among three finalists to purchase the Chicago Cubs, and also have interest in buying the Bills.

However, the NFL prohibits publicly traded corporations from owning its teams, and league commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the situation on Monday.

"We have a very strong policy that we want a principal owner that speaks for the team, speaks to the community but also is a representative on the league level," Goodell said. "They're aware of those policies if they want to own an NFL team, that those opportunities do exist, but it's very important for us to have a principal owner like Mr. Wilson."

Wilson, entering his 45th year with the Bills, met with Goodell and United States Senator Charles Schumer in the hope of keeping his team in Buffalo.

"We're talking about the future of the Bills and what we can continue to do to make sure that the Bills continue to be successful here in western New York," Goodell said. "We've talked about the initial steps here as far as regionalizing to southern Ontario and the Toronto series. And that has been a very positive step for the Bills in western New York."

"The best assurance you can have long term is to build up a strong franchise, and that's happening now," Schumer told the Buffalo News. "The ticket sales are much, much better. If you involve the Toronto market, making sure the Bills stay in Buffalo, you've added four million people to the market."

The Bills agreed in February to play a series of eight games over a five-year period at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.