Jacob’s Family Has ‘Gambling’ Obstacle Standing in Way of Buffalo Bills Purchase
ESPN.com on Wednesday reported that the family involved with helping to find the Buffalo Bills a new owner hasn’t ruled out buying the franchise themselves. The Bills previous owner, Ralph Wilson, died last month.
Jeremy Jacobs Jr., the son of Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Sr., is engaged in discussions related to the franchise's future. The Jacobs, one of Buffalo's wealthiest families, would most certainly want the Bills to stay put.
"We are using our resources, our contacts, our relationships to do everything we can to ensure the Bills stay in Buffalo," Jacobs said in a story published on the Buffalo News paper's website.
The Jacobs family patriarch’s ownership of the Bruins presents Obstacle number one. The National Football League prohibits an owner from having ownership interests in sports franchises in other markets. That doesn’t mean one of Jeremy Sr.’s sons can’t run the Bills.
A more pressing issue might be the Jacobs family ownership of Delaware North food service company. That’s because its holding company runs numerous racing and gambling operations across the country.
Under NFL guidelines, owners are barred from having ties to casinos, racetracks and other gaming interests.
"We have warts," Jeremy Jacobs Jr. acknowledged, referring to league's anti-gambling rules.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
