After the unfortunate passing of longtime Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson last season, the franchise had been on the market for a few months, with a number of different bids coming in from billionaires who were hoping to land themselves a professional sports team. With some numbers and potential suitors being better than others, the team and league decided to name the Pegula family as the next owners of the longtime franchise. Sold to Terry Pegula for $1.4 billion, the American businessman gained control of the team in the past few days, overtaking real estate mogul Donald Trump and singer Jon Bon Jovi who were also pressing to acquire the Bills. But besides being worth multi-billions, who is this family and how did they find their way into the NFL? I’m tackling those questions—no pun intended—and will give you a few fun facts worth noting about the newest family of the National Football League.
10. Terry Pegula Broke the News to His Daughter in a Three-Word Text
Sure, Terry’s the owner of the Buffalo Sabres, but, before the other day, he was still waiting on word about if his bid had been approved for the Buffalo Bills. When he got the team, though, rather than boast and call everyone he knew, Pegula played things fairly cool, simply texting his daughter Jessie Pegula a three-word text that read, “We own Bills.” Some texts from parents can be a bit bizarre, but that’s one that certainly got the approval of Jessie.
9. He Made His Money in Natural Gas
So how does a guy earn so much money in order to buy a professional football team? In Terry Pegula’s case, he made his from natural gas. After working for Getty Oil early in his career, Pegula founded East Resources, a natural gas drilling company, receiving $7,500 from family and friends. He eventually sold pieces of the company in Pennsylvania, New York and the Rocky Mountain region for $4.7 billion, later selling the Ohio and West Virginia assets for $1.75 billion earlier in 2014.
8. He Expanded His Net Worth In Real Estate
For those looking to make real money, real estate might be the best advice I have for you—assuming you know what you’re doing. As mentioned above, Pegula made most of his money from natural gas. Yet, he expanded that wealth through real estate developments like the renovation of Buffalo’s waterfront, which he is building a $170 million hockey-themed building that is anchored by two rinks, parking garages, retail space, restaurants and a hotel.
7. The Family Gives Back
When you’re worth as much money as the Pegula family is, one would hope that you would give back to the community—and that’s exactly what they do. An alum of Penn State University, Pegula donated a cool $102 million for the construction of a new ice arena back in 2010, with the result being both a state-of-the-art facility and the hockey team moving from a club team to D-I competition. With his wife Kim being an alum at Houghton College in New York, the family also donated $12 million to the school to help support a new athletic complex, which includes new baseball and softball stadium and a field house with numerous athletic training grounds.
6. They Have Split Political Views
Normally, people with a lot of money are usually set in their political views, supporting either Democrats or Replublicans. Not the Pegula’s, though. They proved that by pledging $305,000 to Republican Tom Corbett’s campaign during the Pennsylvania governor’s race in 2010. However, the family also gave $25,000 t0 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during the 2014 elections, as well as $12,000 to Buffalo mayor Byron Brown, $2,500 to senator Charles Schumer and $250 to state senator Tim Kennedy—who are all Democrats.
5. The Family Has Five Kids
Currently splitting time between Boca Raton, Fl. and Buffalo, the Pegula family is also busy raising five kids of their own. The five children range in age, and one of their daughters, Jessie Pegula, is actually a tennis player on the Women’s Tennis Association’s Pro Circuit. It appears that the culture of sports runs deep in this family.
4. The Family Also Owns the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres
Although some may be concerned with an owner who has two, separate pro franchises, Buffalo fans should take solace in having someone who is familiar with the sports scene in the city. That’s because Terry Pegula has been the owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres since 2011, and has admitted to being a diehard hockey fan. The day that he took over ownership, he was quoted as saying, “Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres’ reason for existence, will be to win a Stanley Cup.”
3. Pegula is Involved Other Entertainment, Too
Terry Pegula might have made his earnings in other industries, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a bit of a wild side to him, too. He has shown that by owning a share of Black River Entertainment, an independent country music record label that’s based in Nashville, Tn. and boasts artists like Kellie Pickler and Craig Morgan. Pegula is also under the Impact Sports Performance umbrella, who have two high-performance training facilities for athletes in both Boca Raton, Fl. and Buffalo. It’s these other businesses that have led him to start Pegula Sports and Entertainment—which controls both operations.
2. They Are Committed to Western New York
As someone who grew up just outside of Cleveland, Oh. and saw the relocation of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns to Baltimore prior to the 1996 season, I can tell you that there isn’t a worse heartbreak for fans. And after a summer worth of question marks on who the new owner would be and if that person would move the team from Buffalo, Bills fans can now breathe a little lighter now—because Terry Pegula isn’t taking the team anywhere. Not only does he have the Sabres in Buffalo, along with other numerous projects in the city, but his wife is from Rochester, meaning they’re in for the long haul.
1. Running the Bills Will Be a Family Affair
While everything most fans have read about this deal finally getting done has mentioned the Buffalo Bills being sold to Terry and wife Kim Pegula, that’s not by accident. While Terry will no doubt have a lot of say in the decisions in building the Bills, as the owner of the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL—and a huge fan of the hockey team as a former season-ticket holder—he has talked about his mission to bring the Stanley Cup to that organization. For that reason, he’ll balance his efforts with his wife, Kim, who will have a lot of say and input in what moves will be made with the family’s football team.
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