Bon Jovi tossed out of group bidding for Bills: Report

It sounds as if Jon Bon Jovi got a little taste of the Richie Sambora treatment himself this week after the wealthy rocker was tossed out a group bidding for the Buffalo Bills.

The deep-pocketed Toronto-based sports team owners — who put up an offer for the Buffalo Bills — and the New Jersey singer have parted ways,  reported The N.Y. Post.

The remaining entities in the group — Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which controls the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors, and Edward Rogers, chairman of Rogers Communications — believe they are in a stronger position to win the Bills auction without Bon Jovi, sources close to the situation said Friday.

Bon Jovi, a former Arena Football League team owner, had led the group, a source close to the situation said. As the lead bidder, he would have been the principal owner and therefore, under NFL rules, would have to put up 30 percent of the purchase price.

With Bon Jovi’s net worth at roughly $300 million, according to sources, the group’s highest bid would have been capped at about $1.1 billion.

With rival bidder Terry Pegula, a fracking billionaire, said to be willing to push an offer toward $1.2 billion or higher, the Toronto group, with Bon Jovi, feared it was bound to be outbid, sources said.

“Rogers is very serious” about buying the team, another source close to the process said.

There have been recent media reports about the Toronto bid falling apart — but in reality it is reforming, claim sources.

Real Estate mogul Donald Trump is reportedly still in the bidding mix, as well. Final bids are due next week.

Maybe old Jonnie could could start a new band — Ban Jovi.

Morgan Stanley, the investment bank selling the Bills, has been trying to help Bon Jovi find new backers, sources said. Bon Jovi and Tanenbaum spokespeople did not return calls.

Richie Sambora sings about Philip Rivers and his bolo ties (VIDEO)

It looks like Richie Sambora has had a lot of time on his hands since getting booted from Bon Jovi. So much time, he wrote a song about Phillip Rivers and his bolo ties.

Here's the Garden State's own cowboy singing a little ditty about the Charger quarterback's choice of neck wear for FOX Sports.

I do detect a little "Wanted Dead or Alive" in the tune. But, all the same, you give Jersey a bad name.

Jon Bon Jovi interested in buying the Buffalo Bills: Report

Jon Bon Jovi wants to get back into football ownership and, according to those connected with New Jersey's second most famous rock star, he is consumed with purchasing an NFL team. The one-time owner of the Philadelphia Soul of Arena Football League is among the parties positioning to purchase the Buffalo Bills when the team comes up for sale, reports CBS Sports.com.

The Bills will go to the market when the 95-year-old owner Ralph Wilson passes, and, many league sources believe the Rogers Communications group in Toronto, who already work closely with the Wilson family to stage games annually in Toronto, is the prime suitor for the franchise.

But CBS Sports says Bon Jovi has reportedly spent considerable time in the Buffalo area getting to know politicians and power brokers and even added a date there late in a recent tour to allow for more time to allocate to the matter.

While Bon Jovi has been very proactive in meeting NFL owners and general managers, and is seeking their input on all sort of issues related to football, he may be living on a prayer. Sources said Bon Jovi is aiming to be the principal owner, but it remains to be seen if he has the type of sizable capital necessary to meet that threshold of majority ownership. He nearly become a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons a few years ago and still maintains connections with several NFL power brokers in his effort to turn that dream into reality. 

According to several sources in the music industry, Bon Jovi's dumping of the band's longtime guitarist Richie Sambora is likely even related to his pursuit of a franchise, as Sambora was the highest-paid member of his band and the next most prominent member, and by using session musicians or unknowns, he is then able to keep his costs down. Bon Jovi is a shrewd businessman who has kept much of his operation in-house and has long been the central figure in making deals for the band.

He is obviously very wealthy and is held in high regard by NFL owners and within the league office, but it is very difficult to end up as the primary owner of a franchise and they do not change hands all that often. The recent passing of Titans owner Bud Adams has put a finer focus on the age and relative health of some owners, and while Adams' family has plans in place to retain the franchise into the foreseeable future, that is not the case with the Bills.

The NFL has a vested interest in keeping the Bills a regional team, for Western New York and Southern Ontario, and in most any scenario the team will continue sharing games to some degree with Toronto. 

Whether any group would have the connections and wherewithal to compete with the media conglomerate Rogers Communications (worth billions) remains to be seen, but Bon Jovi's interest and desire should not be underestimated, sources said. The Bills could end up in a special trust for a period of time following Wilson's death, as well, but whether it's within a year of his passing or five years after, the team will be going to sale.