Find out about the Buffalo Bills' ownership history, list and original name revealed.
The Buffalo Bills prides itself on being a household name in the National Football League franchise based in Buffalo, New York, and is a member of the AFC East Division.
The Buffalo Bills were founded in 1960 as a charter member of the AFL and joined the NFL in 1970 following the AFL-NFL merger. Over the years, it has been through a series of ownership.
Buffalo Bills ownership history
Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr (1959–2014)
Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr was an American businessman and sports executive. He was the founder and original owner of the Buffalo Bills. Founded the team as one of the founding owners of the American Football League (AFL). He was in charge of the team for up to 54 years.
Following moves to establish an American Football Franchise, Ralph Cookerly Wilson formed the Buffalo Bills, the seventh AFL team, on October 28, 1959.
During his tenure as owner of the Buffalo Bills, the team won two league championships between 1964 and 1965 (1970 pre-AFL–NFL merger).
Terry & Kim Pegula (2014–present)
Terry Pegula purchased the Buffalo Bills in 2014 for a reported fee of around $1.4 billion.
*Arctos
The National Football League approved the sale of 20.6% of the Buffalo Bills franchise to a consortium of private equity firms on December 11, 2024. In it, about 10% of the franchise will be held by Arctos.
The remaining 10.6% is divided among executives at Acrew Capital, Bank of America, Gridiron Capital, Meritech Capital, and Accel-KKR; Jozy Altidore; Vince Carter; and Tracy McGrady.
Valuation
The Buffalo Bills NFL franchise is one of the most valuable teams in the division. It has a valuation of $4.2B according to figures from Forbes.
Trohies and Achievements
The Buffalo Bills has won the NFL championship throughout its history. The team has also won conference and divisional.