Gillett Maneuvering For Ownership Of NFL's Buffalo Bills?

Less than a year after effectively abandoning his role as majority owner of the Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, George Gillett, Jr. appears to have his eye on the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.

The BuffaloRising.com website reports that the jet-setting financier was spotted tailgating at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium Sunday, accompanied by family members of former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, who has openly expressed an interested in acquiring his former team. Last week, Kelly’s nephew, Chad Kelly, tweeted a cryptic message saying 2012, “...might be a new year, new season and new... fill that in. You got it.”

Combined with Sunday’s Gillett sighting at the Bills-Eagles game, the remark triggered a firestorm of speculation about a possible bid by Gillett and Kelly for ownership of the team. The following day, Chad Kelly attempted to put out the fire, tweeting "the Bills news has nothing to do with a owner..." before abruptly deleting his Twitter account.

For those unfamiliar, here is a brief rundown of Gillett’s checkered history in business and professional sports.

At age 27, Gillett acquired a 22% ownership stake in the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, using approximately $1 million dollars borrowed from wealthy acquaintances in his native Wisconsin. He sold his share of the team within a year, using the proceeds to purchase the Harlem Globetrotters for $3.7M.

In the `80s, Gillett worked with junk bond guru Michael Milken to purchase six television stations for $1.1 billion. That purchase was highly leveraged – a tactic that would later become Gillett’s preferred mode of operation – and when the value of the stations subsequently plummeted, Gillett found himself unable to pay the note. Bond investors forced the company into bankruptcy, and soon after, Gillett filed for personal bankruptcy.

He eventually found success in the meat packing and ski resort businesses before reappearing on the professional sports scene in 2001 by purchasing an 80% interest in the legendary Montreal Canadiens hockey franchise (and their showplace arena, the Molson Center) for a reported $275M.

He and partner Tom Hicks also acquired the Liverpool English Premier League Soccer Club Football Club for $343M, amid grandiose promises of top-name player acquisitions, league championships and new stadium construction. The purchase was heavily leverage through the Royal Bank of Scotland, however, and by late 2010, Gillett and Hicks were no longer making scheduled payments. Gillett was forced to sell the Canadiens for a reported $525M, in an attempt to refinance the RBS loan and avoid a forced sale of the club. That bid ultimately failed, when the English Premier League forced a sale of the Liverpool club to John Henry, majority owner of the Boston Red Sox and a major partner in Roush Fenway Racing.

Gillett fell victim to another over-leveraged sale in his role as majority owner of Richard Petty Motorsports. Former owner Ray Evernham claimed Gillett failed to pay him approximately $20M from the initial purchase of the team, and the team operated on a “cash only” basis with numerous parts and material suppliers that service the NASCAR industry. On a number of occasions late last season, RPM had its race cars and engines embargoed by supplier Roush Fenway Racing, pending payment. Gillett effectively walked away from his majority ownership of the team with a handful of races still remaining in the 2010 campaign, leaving minority partner Petty to assemble an 11th-hour financial takeover that kept the team from being shuttered.

Apparently not dissuaded by his astounding run of failure, it appears Gillett may now be ready to take a shot at ownership of the Buffalo Bills. He and Hall Of Fame quarterback John Elway were rebuffed in a bid to purchase the NBA Denver Nuggets, NHL Colorado Avalanche and their shared home; the Pepsi Center not long ago. And now, he’s got a new, high-profile partner in Jim Kelly, who is considered a virtual deity by loyal Bills fans. There are unconfirmed reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Gillett and Kelly last weekend.

For the sake of the league and the franchise, let’s hope Goodell does his homework before allowing George Gillett to put his mark on the National Football League.