Bon Jovi’s Letter To The Editor

The rocker is part of an ownership group with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum and Rogers Communications’ Rogers family, all of Toronto.

They submitted a bid to purchase the pro football team that was put up for sale after the death of owner Ralph Wilson in March. Bon Jovi wrote in the letter that it’s the group’s objective “to make the Bills successful in Buffalo,” without mentioning the Toronto orientation of his group. “There has been a lot of conjecture, so we think it’s important to clarify our intentions to the fans of the team and people of Buffalo,” he wrote. “I know how much the Bills mean to the people of this region. So I want you to hear this from me: I’m not risking it all to let you down. If we are given the chance to be the next owners of the Buffalo Bills, I promise you that we will bring the same passion that you do every Sunday, every day.”

Bon Jovi also said the group is committed to working with state and local officials and the business community to identify a new stadium site in the region.

Even though the Bills’ current lease leaves the team virtually locked into its Buffalo location, fans and other observers are skeptical of the group’s intentions.

The Bills, including the Wilson estate, are barred from negotiating with anyone who, to their knowledge, has an intention of relocating the team, though there is a one-time exception that would allow an owner to break the agreement for just under $28.4 million in 2020.

The Bills Fan Alliance issued a statement of its own after Bon Jovi’s letter appeared in the News.

“While we appreciate his sentiment, it’s worth noting that nowhere in his letter does he write or directly state that he will not move the Bills from Buffalo,” it said, while urging the group to sign a binding pre-purchase agreement to waive the one-year buyout clause. “Anything short of formal action taken on their part will be viewed as nothing more than rhetoric.”