Fracking mogul bids over $1 billion for Buffalo Bills: Report

A Pennsylvania fracking mogul bid more than $1 billion for the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday — making it likely the team will attract a record sales price for an NFL team.

It was one of only two known bids — which were due by 5 p.m. Tuesday — for the storied NFL franchise, according to the New York Post.

Terrence Pegula, who owns the NHL Buffalo Sabres, made the record-breaking opening offer. The team was put on the block last spring following the March 25 death of owner Ralph Wilson Jr..

Donald Trump made the other offer but has admitted he probably underbid because he's "not going to do something stupid" to call the team his.

It could not be learned whether other bids were received by banker Morgan Stanley, which is running the auction, said the newspaper.

A controversial group fronted by Jon Bon Jovi that includes Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, owner of the NBA Toronto Raptors and the NHL Maple Leafs, and the Canadian Rogers family, which controls Rogers Communications, was expected to bid.

The Bon Jovi group is expected to try and move the team to Toronto. A move that has made the rocker an unpopular figure in the western New York city.

“Man, f–k Bon Jovi,” legendary Bills receiver Andre Reed, told New York Magazine. “You might as well just take this city, throw it in the river, and let it go down Niagara Falls.”

And, as usual, there were rumored bidders who were eyeing a move to Los Angeles, which has been without an NFL team since 1994.

First-round bids are usually just high enough to pique the interest of a seller and kick off the selling process.

The $1.1 billion sale of the Miami Dolphins in 2008 is the highest price ever paid for an NFL team.

Bon Jovi, Goodell had business lunch amidst Bills sale: Report

A day after the Buffalo Bills officially proceeded with the process of selling the team, one of the team's most prominent suitors reportedly had a long business lunch with the man who heads the NFL.

According to the New York Post, Jon Bon Jovi and Commissioner Roger Goodell spent two hours at lunch on Thursday and — it's a sure bet the Bills situation was the main course.

“They were definitely talking business,” an unnamed source told the Post.  “Jon was taking notes — he had a pen and paper with him at the table.”

Bon Jovi, a founder and former owner of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul, has joined Toronto-based investment group Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in a bid to buy the Bills.

The Canadian group already owns the NHL Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Raptors franchise and MLS soccer club Toronto FC.

“It’s no secret that Jon’s passion is to become an NFL owner,” said a source close to the Jersey rocker.

Other potential bidders for the Bills — up for sale after the death of owner Ralph Wilson in March — include Donald Trump, former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and former Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano.

Several expected bidders would keep the team in Buffalo.  Ultimately, the question is whether those bids will be better than the bids made by those who would want to move the team.

Sale of the franchise is expected to go for more than $1 billion.

Cuban and Trump get into rich guys spat over Buffalo Bills: Report

One big  question still remains — after the death of Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson last week — is what happens to the organization now that the beloved NFL pioneer has passed on.

Somehow real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump has thrown his wispy hairdo into the mix and says he is the only person who can keep the team in western New York.

"People have actually talked to me about the Bills," Trump proclaimed. "I mean, the group of people called me — would I be interested in investing, and I'll take a look at it. I mean, I look at a lot of things. I'll take a look at it."

Well, Mark Cuban is one person who does not believe Trump can afford to purchase the Bills all by himself ... a statement that Trump says a fireable offense to his ego, reports TMZ.

Trump went as far as comparing his wealth to Cuban's — and claims it is bigger — but not before trashing his fellow reality show host and Dallas Mavericks owner's golf game.

According to the gossip site:

Here's how it all began ... we (TMZ) reached out to Mark (who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks) to get his thoughts about Trump's interest in buying the Bills. 

His response: "He can't afford them by himself. So it would be interesting to see what group he put together to buy them. It would make things interesting."

Donald, to put it lightly, disagreed ... and fired back hard at the insinuation his bank account couldn't handle the purchase.

"Mark Cuban is a lightweight whose net worth is a fraction of mine. He was rejected by baseball and probably plenty of others! By the way, I watched him play golf and he is a total non-athlete – zero clubhead speed. He lives vicariously through his basketball players."

Trump added, "By the way, the Dallas Mavericks deal is syndicated and his partners have been fighting him over poor management. While the Bills deal would be easily handled by me, if I chose to do it, almost all sports deals are syndicated." 

The biggest losers here might be Buffalo Bills fans.