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In exchange for playing eight games in Toronto over the next five years, the Buffalo Bills will be paid a whopping $78 million.
The disclosure was made as part a quarterly report filed by Rogers Communications, one of the companies responsible for making the Bills’ games happen in Toronto.
The total translates to $9.75 million per game.
Without knowing how much the Bills would have made for those same eight games by playing them at Ralph Wilson Stadium, it’s impossible to perform a comparison.
But we’ve got a feeling it would have been a lot less than $9.75 million per game.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I think that there should be a ferry from Rochester, NY to Toronto across Lake Ontario to accommodate all of the Bills fans in the region.
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April 29th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
I wonder if Wilson’s gonna wanna share that money with the rest of the NFL?
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April 29th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I hope you are joking about that ferry thing. The last time they attempted that it was a huge joke and a scam to pay back some political debts to contributors. Thanks Major Johnson for being a scum bag
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April 29th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
SOUNDS COLD!!!!
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April 29th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
According to Forbes magazine’s most recent team valuation, the Bills bring in $36mil/season in gate receipts, for an average of $4.5mil/game. That, of course, doesn’t include such things as food & beverage or merchandise sales in the stadium, but I sincerely doubt those total $5.25mil/game. I would guess that they’re making roughly twice what they would have made by having them in Buffalo.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/30/biz_07nfl_Buffalo-Bills_301765.html
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April 29th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
This is exactly what I’ve been saying. The money is here, not in Buffalo.
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April 29th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
still warmer and further south than Green Bay
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April 30th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Ladies and Gentlemen…. Introducing the Toronto Bills… Coming in 2013.
If there was any doubt that when the Bills’ lease is up after the 2012 season that they were not going to Toronto, this settles it.
Toronto is a major metropolis. Buffalo is a small, economically depressed city. About 2.5 million people vs. a few hundred thousand. You do the math. I expect an annoucement of a new stadium within two years.
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April 30th, 2008 at 12:49 am
And it is this reason that, eventually, Ralph Wilson’s heirs will sell the Bills to the interests in Toronto. With money like that (and a built-in, wealthy fan base)and the NFL wanting to go global, the NFL is praying to the football gods that this scenario happens (which is very likely).
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April 30th, 2008 at 6:32 am
This is brilliant. You see, technically you don’t move the team to another city, you just play your games in another city. These guys are clever.
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April 30th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Hey.. It beats moving to Los Angeles.
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April 30th, 2008 at 7:46 am
I am a huge Bills fan, but I no longer live in the Buffalo area. After this 5 year arrangement is up, the Bills will play a majority of its games in Toronto. Ralph will be gone by then and the team sold. The team will have more money and likely be more competitive. If the fans do not like it, blame high NY State taxes and beauracracy (ie. the liberals) for the failed economy in Western NY.
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April 30th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Don’t forget this is Canadian money not US. Not so cold there is a dome in TO.
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April 30th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Ralph Wilson Stadium holds 73,967. In 2006 the Bills had the lowest average ticket price according to USA Today at $41.29 so a sell out would bring in 3M from tickets sales. I don’t know how they got the average, if it was weighted or if it includes luxury boxes.
As the above poster mentioned it doesn’t include other revenue like concessions, parking and merchandise sales.
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April 30th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Below is some info about Toronto from Wikipedia. It shows that Toronto is a world-class city. And that will inevitably lead to its having an NFL team.
Toronto is located at latitude 43° 40’ north, which is more southerly than Seattle and Minneapolis.
The Greater Toronto Area has a population of 5.6 million.
It is Canada’s economic capital, a global city and one of the top financial cities in the world. Toronto’s leading economic sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, tourism and sports industries. The Toronto Stock Exchange, the world’s seventh largest, is headquartered in the city, along with a majority of Canada’s corporations.
Toronto is one of the world’s most diverse cities. Because of the city’s low crime rates, clean environment, generally high standard of living, and friendlier attitudes to diversity, Toronto is consistently rated as one of the world’s most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
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April 30th, 2008 at 9:40 am
maybe the lions could move there first…
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April 30th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Just a reminder Canadian money is at par with American money, and if
I recall correctly the Buffalo area gets 6 times the amount of snow
then here in Toronto.
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April 30th, 2008 at 10:19 am
There is virtually no difference between the American and Canadian dollar nowadays.
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April 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Here’s some info on Toronto which will explain why it is a world-class city that will get an NFL team.
Toronto is located at latitude 43° 40’ north, which is more southerly than Seattle and Minneapolis.
The Greater Toronto Area has a population of 5.6 million, making it slightly larger than Chicago.
It is Canada’s economic capital, a global city and one of the top financial cities in the world. Toronto’s leading economic sectors include finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, arts, film, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education, tourism and sports industries. The Toronto Stock Exchange, the world’s seventh largest, is headquartered in the city, along with a majority of Canada’s corporations.
Toronto is one of the world’s most diverse cities. Because of the city’s low crime rates, clean environment, generally high standard of living, and friendlier attitudes to diversity, Toronto is consistently rated as one of the world’s most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
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April 30th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
The day the NFL puts a team in Toronto is the day the CFL folds. Do you really think that would play well Calgary, Vancouver, Hamilton or the rest of Canada? The CFL is older than the NFL, employees Canadians across the country, and is a source of pride. Plus, how were those Toronto Raptors ratings on the NBA network the first three playoff games vs Orlando? While the NFL (and the Bills) has many fans in Toronto & southern Ontario, a very large portion of their population is of international flavor who prefer soccer….it’s not like moving a team to a city of 5M in Illinois…. I think the league is having its cake and eating it too right now. When Wilson dies, we know the team will go to the highest bidders (don’t know why inheritance wasn’t such an issue with the Hunt and Frontiere families). This team either stays in Buffalo or heads to LA.
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