Why is Wilson whining? That's the real question. I think everyone is really missing the boat on this. He's whining because he just lost a couple hundred million dollars with the new CBA. That's why. This has nothing to do with Buffalo as a market. This has nothing to do with Buffalo's losing ways. This has nothing to do with Wilson being unwilling to be creative in raising revenues. The naming rights to the stadium aren't going to bring him the $5 mill or so they bring Kraft. Not enough there to make a big difference since there is no company as large as Gillette in the area. Maybe they can rename it Delaware North Arena or HSBC or Delphi Automotive, but Delphi is having it's own problems, and we all know from the Bruins how cheap Delaware North is. As for losing, the Bills sellout an almost 80,000 seat stadium to watch a team that hasn't been to the playoffs in a decade. In Buffalo, that's proof positive that losing doesn't hurt much. They have been in the top 10 in attendance and ticket sales for an eternity. Adding a new stadium with more luxury boxes isn't going to help, unless someone here can think of an upside for having empty luxury boxes (a tax break?).
So, what's all the complaining about?
I believe the Bills' situation with the new CBA needs to include a consideration of two other factors. One, while the Bills' profits will be much less than some of the teams in the large markets, they will still be substantial. Should the NFL elect to move the franchise, it will likely land in an area of the country where the fans simply don't care as much. Arizona, LA, San Diego, New Orleans, Miami, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Carolina, Tennessee, all of these teams in so-called boom areas have been plagued by low attendance. Buffalo supports football, that's the bottom line. I think the real story that's being missed is that the new CBA has effectively cost Wilson millions. It has reduced his margins, and therefore reduced the value of the franchise. A new owner will not pay $600 million for the franchise, nor will he use banking money to pay for it, because the margins are now too small. But a new owner who buys the Bills for their true current market value (with the reduced margins of the new CBA taken into account) can still turn a handsome profit and keep the Bills in Buffalo. If the Patriots bring in $300 million in revenues, the Bills only $175 million, and each of them pays $105 million to the players, that still makes the teams competitive on the field. Even with these margins, the Bills' income is still well above what it was a decade or so ago. If you don't have a lot of debt service (i.e. if you don't pay $600 million to Wilson) then you will still make big bank owning the Buffalo Bills. Wilson is trying to maximize his profits in selling the team by offering the carrot that a potential new owner may be given the go-ahead to move them. Which would make the franchise more valuable. But that's a risky proposition.
As long as the Bills can turn a healthy profit in Buffalo, and as long as the fans continue to support them (a decade without the playoffs and, yet, the stadium is full every Sunday? That's amazing!) then the franchise should stay there. The team's relative weakness in terms of profitability does not mean it is not viable and can't survive. Can the NFL maximize profits by moving them? Sure, that's a possibility. But they'd be losing stalwart fans for the fickleness of fans that have better things to do when it's 85 degrees in LA in November, and 35 degrees in Buffalo. There's a good reason why Frontiere moved the Rams from large market LA to small market St. Louis. She had absolutely no support in LA. There's a reason Al Davis moved the Raiders from LA to small market Oakland.
So, let the new owner pay $600-700 million for the Bills, let him move them to LA where nobody will care. The NFL will lose a viable Buffalo franchise and add a crappy LA franchise. Why? Because they'll be lured by $$ signs, instead of emphasizing football and fans. If the NFL wants to do right, it will let Wilson stew in the wind as it gives the new owner guidelines that say he can't move the team out of the area.
