The big question being asked all week is what changes will the Pegula’s make with the Buffalo Bills? Kim Pegula and several of her kids were seen at the Bills home opener against Miami and Kelly Pegula tweeted a photo from inside one of the luxury suites near the end of the game. Kim wanted to maintain a low profile considering the game was a tribute to previous owner Ralph Wilson, but reports are she was impressed with the spectacle.
Photo tweeted Sunday by Kelly Pegula
This will be a time of transition for Russ Brandon and his staff, although that organization has been used to change over the past ten years. The one constant however was that one man, Ralph Wilson was always at the top of the organizational chart. That will no longer be the case and how the chain of command shakes out will have an affect on how successful the Bills will be in the new era.
Kim Pegula was involved in significant changes to the First Niagara Center and my guess is she will do the same at One Bills Drive. Of course Ralph Wilson Stadium belongs to Erie County so the changes will not be as drastic as those at the FNC.
Russ Brandon has earned his stripes with the Bills on the business side and I’m certain he will remain as team President. However, there has been and will continue to be discussion within Pegula Sports & Entertainment as to how the Buffalo Bills organization conducts business.
The NFL model is different is some ways from the NHL model in that it’s a much bigger universe. The NFL is the premier professional sports league in North America and everything is looked at under a microscope. The Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson stories are a prime example. Rarely has a NHL player story ever made national front page news, but it happens frequently in the NFL.
One things is certain however, at 1.4 billion dollars Terry and Kim Pegula have earned the right to do whatever they see fit as owners of the Bills.
My guess is it will be a change in culture for Bills employees, possibly for the better for most. Sabres employees rave about Kim Pegula and how they are treated for the most part. There may be some perks that carry over to the Bills organization. I would also expect cross promotion at some point at the individual games as the word synergy will be used in front office discussions for the foreseeable future.
On the field I expect nothing to change this season regardless of how the team is performing. The Pegula’s were reluctant to overturn the apple cart with the Sabres until the outcry to replace Regier became deafening. However, once the Bills season is over I expect the Pegula’s will take a close look at performance and not sit with a pat hand as they did for two years with their hockey team.
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