Great must read article for BILLS fans

[adrenaline]

bump for more views....

[SWBillzbacker]

That article IS dead-on. It's also very depressing because it's so true. I've been pretty much saying the same thing since the Evans trade -- and others have been saying it for longer.

As I said in another thread, Wilson won't sell because of taxes. If he sells the team while he's alive, he'll have to pay capital gains taxes, and when he dies, his estate will have to pay estate taxes. If the team is sold after he dies, the capital gains taxes are minimal because the team won't be worth much more when it's sold as when the heirs inherited the estate.

He won't pay 'Capital-gains' taxes.....it's essentially considered an intangible asset on paper, even as a corporation, which I'm sure the Bills are and is not a part of his Estate.

Corporations allocate dollars for insurance to cover any tax as a liability and it wouldn't be difficult either to dump money to charities to gain tax advantages, in a hurry.

If he owned the stadium, which he doesn't (leases from Erie County) and there was a profit from it's sale.....then you could consider the original purchase of the land, deducted from the sale price as 'Capital-gains' worthy. Yet, again, if the Bills are a corporation which I would bet my bank accounts they are.....then the only the amount Wilson receives personally and allocated directly to him and only him, without re-investment into a tax-sheltered account, would be considered as income for that year.

He could take the entire amount and start a non-profit charity and never be taxed.....while drawing 10% salary or less without tax consequenses annually.

[Pyssed Doph]

you know what gets me about this.


myself and about 3 other posters have been trying to explain this very thing for years about the bills.

how can a team make money by not winning. because winning cuts into the profits.

what the article didnt go into was the effect that individual incentives have on a team by team basis. any and everything from starts ... to yardage to carries to receptions. even league recgonition ... mvp ... pro bowl .... those things can be in contracts.


play off bonuses for the players. all those things take away from the profits.

but the suggestion that the salary cap floor is something new is false. it has been then. it just didnt get alot of media attention.

[Scoobiedoo]

So somebody answer this for me. Why did Buddy Nix come out of retirment to work for the Bills? Why did Doug Whaley come here from the Steelers is everything is basically this huge inside job?

Where are all the former Bills front office people who were fired that have come out and said that Ralph is basically doing an inside job to make money?

Things like this come out, nothing like this has ever come out.

The man is 95 years old, can hardly walk, can hardly speak and you're going to tell me he's in the daily football operations at that age and condition?

Just consider the source, this so called Bills fan often confuses his opinion with fact. The only truth to him is something negative.

It embarrasses me that's he's from Oklahoma too

[emtgrant]

Very interesting article, thanks for posting!

[SoulCrusher]

So somebody answer this for me. Why did Buddy Nix come out of retirment to work for the Bills? Why did Doug Whaley come here from the Steelers is everything is basically this huge inside job?

Where are all the former Bills front office people who were fired that have come out and said that Ralph is basically doing an inside job to make money?

Things like this come out, nothing like this has ever come out.

The man is 95 years old, can hardly walk, can hardly speak and you're going to tell me he's in the daily football operations at that age and condition?

This is too easy.

Buddy's only chance to be an NFL GM, albeit a puppet GM, and to get the payday that comes with that was to take Ralph's offer. He doesn't have to worry about doing a good job either, because this is his last job in football. It makes all too much sense for Buddy to NOT take the gig.

Whaley also got an offer that he wasn't receiving from the Steelers. Bigger title, bigger payday. It's not too hard to understand. Nix will bear the brunt of the criticism when this regime collapses, so he'll land on his feet after this fiasco.


You act as if this is area 51 type secrecy here. His former employees are just happy they got paid for the terrible job they did, and have no interest in outing themselves as yes men and puppets for the puppet master.

Is it starting to come together yet?

I don't believe he's in control of daily operations, I'll give you that. I will tell you however that he has made it CRYSTAL clear to the men in his circle that there is criteria that they must follow, and any deviation from what Ralph wants, (being cheap, extending Kelsay, etc...). Follow the guidelines, and you're in no danger of losing your job for at least a few years.

If after all this time you don't know that Ralph is extremely controlling and afraid to hand over the reins since Polian, and that this is why we didn't even have a GM, just a marketing guru. Again, this is not rocket science or breaking news. Ralph only let a handful of people into his circle, and it was because they listened to him. They were rewarded with a job for as long as he could possibly keep them on.

You and the others who think Ralph doesn't have a HUGE say in the way this franchise is run are the delusional ones, not us realists.

[dup]

http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/...ap-paying-wins

they could have made the title 'How Ralph Wilson runs the Bills' and it would have been dead on. I have said this for years, Ralph has no interest in fielding a winning team because he doesn't have to. Buffalonians are so scared of losing the team they will flock to the stadium even if the team only wins 3 games a year. All he has to do is every 5 years march out a new Cheap hire GM and HC with a new 'plan' and fans will flock and scream 'but we have to give the new guy time...'

I like how further down it explains how Nix and chan are going to use the previous regime to be an excuse for a crappy 2011 ( I presume 2012 as well...)

As long as Ralph is owner, nothing changes.

He's taking a page out of Harold Ballard's dubious legacy. I have no respect for what Wilson is doing to this team and it's fans. You could make an argument that he is making this franchise look very profitable before selling. I hate the doom and gloom too, I know I've been very pessimistic towards the entire Bills organization this year, but this really, really, smells bad.

[Logic]

Sorry, but that Easterbrook article is a bit of a joke.

If you believe the premise of his article, Buddy Nix is in cahoots with Ralph Wilson to save as much money as possible. Ralph, presumably, told Nix (a lifelong scout and true "football guy") "Hey, you can have this job, Buddy, but only if you do everything you can to cut costs and save me money". Buddy then presumably obliged and accepted the job. And now, he not only does everything in his power to save money, he also does so in a way that gives him a "built-in excuse" for each season in terms of why the team will do poorly. He cut Langston Walker and Trent Edwards in order to "give him an excuse for the team doing poorly", and he traded Lee Evans for the same reason. It wasn't that Nix and/or Gailey thought that Evans no longer fit in with the team, and it wasn't that Lee WANTED out because he saw he wasn't being utilized...no, no, no. The real truth is that Ralph said "Hey Buddy, find a way to save me another $3 million, will ya? and while you're at it, do it in a way that gives us an excuse for having a bad season. Thanks". Buddy, in this scenario, has no interest in actually fielding a winning team. He doesn't care at all about his reputation or integrity. His only job is to save Ralph money wherever possible, all the while deviously performing personnel maneuvers that give the Bills an excuse for losing so they can justify it to their season ticket holders. Right. Meanwhile, Ralph Wilson, who has dedicated his entire life to owning and operating the Bills, has no interest whatsoever in seeing his team win a Super Bowl before he dies. He'd rather just make money and field a horrible team. Furthermore, Ralph sees no monetary gain to be had from fielding a SUCCESSFUL team that brings in new fans and generates more merchandise sales revenue. Right.

Sorry, its hogwash. I don't deny that small market teams often operate on the cheap in an effort to save money. But his premise about Nix and Wilson and their devious efforts to cut costs and "give themselves excuses for fielding a bad team" is ridiculous. Sorry, it just is. Asbolutely ridiculous.

[The Wendigo]

Wow.

Easterbrook didn't write anything I didn't already know, but I'm kind of shocked that he just laid it all out there like that. He must be very secure in his gig with ESPN, because none of the organizations that he just put on blast will ever hire him in any capacity. I applaud him for doing it. Most journalists aren't courageous enough to burn bridges like that. This link is going in my sig.

For those that wonder why this franchise is the way it is, read the article, it's all in there.

[BillsFan]

Did you read the article? You might want to before you post

IMO its a must read for everyone in Buffalo and Cinci

I read the article when it was posted a dozen or so times already. Buffalo is not sitting here cutting/trading future Hall Of Famers to cut corners. The Buffalo Bills have been a losing team for the better part of a decade.

When you are using names like Langston Turn Style Walker and Trentative Edwards as examples to back up your arguent you look foolish to say the least.

[Billsfaninok]

Please go root for someone else. I do not understand you put your hand on the stove, it burns you learn from that.

If you feel like the Bills are so poorly ran go root for someone else this is getting old and pathetic.

Hell no. I am gonna be right here till the end riding the front offices asses. Every screwup I am calling them on it. Wilson has been bilking great people out of hard earned money for decades now and its coming to a head.

This article is dead on and only the most blind, clueless homer would disregard it.

[The Wendigo]

Sorry, but that Easterbrook article is a bit of a joke.

If you believe the premise of his article, Buddy Nix is in cahoots with Ralph Wilson to save as much money as possible. Ralph, presumably, told Nix (a lifelong scout and true "football guy") "Hey, you can have this job, Buddy, but only if you do everything you can to cut costs and save me money". Buddy then presumably obliged and accepted the job. And now, he not only does everything in his power to save money, he also does so in a way that gives him a "built-in excuse" for each season in terms of why the team will do poorly. He cut Langston Walker and Trent Edwards in order to "give him an excuse for the team doing poorly", and he traded Lee Evans for the same reason. It wasn't that Nix and/or Gailey thought that Evans no longer fit in with the team, and it wasn't that Lee WANTED out because he saw he wasn't being utilized...no, no, no. The real truth is that Ralph said "Hey Buddy, find a way to save me another $3 million, will ya? and while you're at it, do it in a way that gives us an excuse for having a bad season. Thanks". Buddy, in this scenario, has no interest in actually fielding a winning team. He doesn't care at all about his reputation or integrity. His only job is to save Ralph money wherever possible, all the while deviously performing personnel maneuvers that give the Bills an excuse for losing so they can justify it to their season ticket holders. Right. Meanwhile, Ralph Wilson, who has dedicated his entire life to owning and operating the Bills, has no interest whatsoever in seeing his team win a Super Bowl before he dies. He'd rather just make money and field a horrible team. Furthermore, Ralph sees no monetary gain to be had from fielding a SUCCESSFUL team that brings in new fans and generates more merchandise sales revenue. Right.

Sorry, its hogwash. I don't deny that small market teams often operate on the cheap in an effort to save money. But his premise about Nix and Wilson and their devious efforts to cut costs and "give themselves excuses for fielding a bad team" is ridiculous. Sorry, it just is. Asbolutely ridiculous.

You're in some pretty deep denial here. It really does make perfect sense. Buddy is over 70 years old, what does he care about is reputation? He has no intention of working in the NFL ever again when he's done here.

[Billsfaninok]

Just consider the source, this so called Bills fan often confuses his opinion with fact. The only truth to him is something negative.

It embarrasses me that's he's from Oklahoma too

It is FACT, pure and absolute fact. If you don't get that then I don't know what to tell you.

[Billsfaninok]

That article IS dead-on. It's also very depressing because it's so true. I've been pretty much saying the same thing since the Evans trade -- and others have been saying it for longer.

As I said in another thread, Wilson won't sell because of taxes. If he sells the team while he's alive, he'll have to pay capital gains taxes, and when he dies, his estate will have to pay estate taxes. If the team is sold after he dies, the capital gains taxes are minimal because the team won't be worth much more when it's sold as when the heirs inherited the estate.

Sweetie the ONLY reason Ralph doesn't sell is EGO! This is his and he is going to hang onto it till he croaks. Besides, with all the lemmings running to the stadium to watch this crappy product, would you sell if money is all that matters to you?

[forever 7-9]

Is this the Easterbrook article posted 35 times today? Has he addressed the fact that cap room means roster and extension flexibility yet? Has he pointed out that the best organizations in the league run about midway in the cap room chart?

The only thing interesting about Easterbrook's work is figuring out whether "Confirmation Bias Easterbrook" won or "Strawman Easterbrook" won that week...

[Billsfaninok]

This is too easy.

Buddy's only chance to be an NFL GM, albeit a puppet GM, and to get the payday that comes with that was to take Ralph's offer. He doesn't have to worry about doing a good job either, because this is his last job in football. It makes all too much sense for Buddy to NOT take the gig.

Whaley also got an offer that he wasn't receiving from the Steelers. Bigger title, bigger payday. It's not too hard to understand. Nix will bear the brunt of the criticism when this regime collapses, so he'll land on his feet after this fiasco.


You act as if this is area 51 type secrecy here. His former employees are just happy they got paid for the terrible job they did, and have no interest in outing themselves as yes men and puppets for the puppet master.

Is it starting to come together yet?

I don't believe he's in control of daily operations, I'll give you that. I will tell you however that he has made it CRYSTAL clear to the men in his circle that there is criteria that they must follow, and any deviation from what Ralph wants, (being cheap, extending Kelsay, etc...). Follow the guidelines, and you're in no danger of losing your job for at least a few years.

If after all this time you don't know that Ralph is extremely controlling and afraid to hand over the reins since Polian, and that this is why we didn't even have a GM, just a marketing guru. Again, this is not rocket science or breaking news. Ralph only let a handful of people into his circle, and it was because they listened to him. They were rewarded with a job for as long as he could possibly keep them on.

You and the others who think Ralph doesn't have a HUGE say in the way this franchise is run are the delusional ones, not us realists.

Dead on! For those still in denial, no one ever offered Buddy Nix a GM job before Buffalo. As some pointed out he was retired because the Chargers didn't want his *** any longer. Hell yeah he is gonna do exactly what Ralph tells him to do and that is cut all the high salaries, and just draft. Oh sure sprinkle in mid tier FA's to keep the masses somewhat at bay, but that is it.

[Billsfaninok]

Is this the Easterbrook article posted 35 times today? Has he addressed the fact that cap room means roster and extension flexibility yet? Has he pointed out that the best organizations in the league run about midway in the cap room chart?

The only thing interesting about Easterbrook's work is figuring out whether "Confirmation Bias Easterbrook" won or "Strawman Easterbrook" won that week...

The man is dead on. I know homers don't want to hear it, but it doesn't change the fact the man is correct.

[forever 7-9]

The man is dead on. I know homers don't want to hear it, but it doesn't change the fact the man is correct.

Bull****. I'm no homer (have had the above SN here since I joined) but Easterbrook is one of the most frustrating, ill-researched, ill-informed anectdotal, ****-evidence peddlers feigning intellectual prowess out there...

Coming up with a conclusion, picking 3 examples you think fit your theory, ignoring all other factors and evidence and analysis and claiming your theory is proven is his game.

[adrenaline]

When you are using names like Langston Turn Style Walker and Trentative Edwards as examples to back up your arguent you look foolish to say the least.

Go back and look man, I never brought up either one of these losers. I was a big Capt.Checkdown guy and pushed hard to get him canned.

I still dont think you read it....

This article is dead on and only the most blind, clueless homer would disregard it.

I read the article when it was posted a dozen or so times already. Buffalo is not sitting here cutting/trading future Hall Of Famers to cut corners. The Buffalo Bills have been a losing team for the better part of a decade.

When you are using names like Langston Turn Style Walker and Trentative Edwards as examples to back up your arguent you look foolish to say the least.

It is FACT, pure and absolute fact. If you don't get that then I don't know what to tell you.

[The Wendigo]

Bull****. I'm no homer (have had the above SN here since I joined) but Easterbrook is one of the most frustrating, ill-researched, ill-informed anectdotal, ****-evidence peddlers feigning intellectual prowess out there...

Coming up with a conclusion, picking 3 examples you think fit your theory, ignoring all other factors and evidence and analysis and claiming your theory is proven is his game.

Sounds like you've got an axe to grind with Easterbrook. No matter how you feel about the author, the article is well-written and his premise is fundamentally true. You really can't argue with the financials. Facts are, Ralph has made a killing in a small, economically-depressed market with a team that has only been competitive for brief flashes of its 50 year history. Where's the falsehood there?

Clearly, there's a major motivation to keep this team a bottom feeder. What's the answer to 99 out of 100 questions?