United States Senator Charles Schumer on Wednesday revealed a plan to help keep the Buffalo Bills long term. No doubt that there are many of you that are trying to figure out what it means, so hear is a breakdown.
What we all understand is that a loan under the National Football League’s G-4 plan for stadium construction and improvements matches a team’s contribution towards new construction over $25 million and has two clauses that currently make the loan due in full. Those are upon relocation of the team and sale of ownership. Also, that Schumer wants to do away with the sale of ownership clause for an owner whose owned the team for over 20 years and keep the relocation clause and add a penalty to it.
So what does this mean for Bills fans?
The Bills,under the ownership of Ralph Wilson, can use visiting team revenue from home games to pay off the loan instead of sending the money to a shared revenue pool, which it usually goes to. Under the current set of rules the next Bills owner would have to pay up in full.
Usually, this is rolled into the loan that is used to purchase the team by the next owner. The difference here being the next owner of the team won’t be able to use visiting team revenue, thus sticking the new ownership with more debt to pay off.
This is a big issue for Bills fans as the team, Erie County, and New York State are in negotiations for a new lease. Without the change, the Bills are going to argue the less they have to pay the more likely the next owner will keep the team in Buffalo, and that means higher taxes. However, if the change is made the Bills, would be able to kick more money in, which of course means less of a contribution from the taxpayers.
For now, the ball is in NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s hands