It's unclear what this means exactly. Clearly, something "big"
could be happening for the Bills, but we have no clue what it might be. His followers, on the other hand, have made some interesting guesses.
And how would Bills fans feel about that?
That sounds about right. We'll keep you posted on what Thurman Thomas is talking about... If he's even actually talking about anything at all...
[UPDATE] Thomas Galicia of Bleacher Report threw out an interesting guess in a B/R comment forum as well:
The
team is being sold, that's my best guess. The high estate tax+Ralph
Wilson's advancing age (btw, I hate the Bills but have nothing but love
for Wilson, he's partially responsible for the Dolphins)+the new lease
the Bills signed to stay in Buffalo add up to a potential change in
ownership.
That's what I think Thurman Thomas was leading to with that tweet.
I've heard rumors that he and Jim Kelly are investors in a group that
had attempted to purchase the Bills a few years back too.
That seems a lot more credible and likelier than people's hunches on Twitter.
[UPDATE] For those of you with Facebook,
here. For those of you without it, this was posted on the FB of The Buffalo Range, a Buffalo sports forum, on 12/28/12:
Some
of you remember these inside reports from a friend of mine who is with
the Bills some do not. At one time I had great insider info from the
team with a 98% truth percentage, not bad numbers.
Well.... my
source has said that Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas will be named as new
owners of the team sometime next week, Tuesday or Wednesday. Thurman has
been said to have save nearly every penny he's ever made and Kelly has
major money too as well as investors. Gailey and Wanstedt rumored to
both be gone with the changes and dont be surprised to see Fitz gone
too.
Go Bills!
[UPDATE] Along with a number of questionable reports over the course of the week, this was posted by
boards.buffalobills.forum.com executive member Chan on 12/30/12. Look into his board history and take him for however credible a middle man you'd like him to be... WARNING... The grammar in the post presented below makes it painful to read:
(source below) Ralph Wilson will be shooting a pre-recorded CRITICAL
statement regarding the team for "Mondays" business....This is real big
news with more implications and info below, but bare with me as I go
back a few days ago.
.....So I reported a verified thread a few days ago........... http://boards.buffalobills.com/showt...ill-be-altered
............ (verified by a few local media connections within the post
which also had like 3k plus views)........anyways it talked about why
the press conference time for Monday was "TBA" and SO far it is NOT
rescheduled yet for New Years Eve. I spoke with him again
tonight......first let me clarify for just a few who thought the reason
for the move was due to the holiday, its not because the XMAS eve
presser was given out by Friday and he said no one has info on the new
time and its "wait and see" directly from MGMT.
anyways, how this relates to huge ralph wilson pre recorded statement news..........
Along with a pre-recorded statement that will be edited and contain
critical information...... so much so that the video team is on strict
orders to be on call at the facility Sunday/Monday with a complete gag
order. The editing will be done in another room as it comes in live so
that Ralph make adjust anything the behind the scenes team deems
necessary as it relates to how it will look and sound. NO PRESS WILL BE
WITNESS to this and its only going to be Ralph's handler and necessary
people. This is not a happy holidays greeting either people, so dont
even say that. Ralph has never done one anyways. Also, there is a
private salon coming in to help groom Ralph and its been now relayed to
him that the months of this season have been spent rehabbing, eating and
trying to present a solid, healthy Ralph Wilson for the camera, but
this is all for this recording. Exactly why he is in town right now and
everyone said he looks great, like Eric Wood on Twitter.
Now, with that being the news, he can confirm all the above, but is
speculating THE CONTENT of the video and its with dare "he" says, "real
insider news". This last part, please dont run to the bank with it.
But it might be the fact he is stepping down control, but has
controlling interest still with the organization. Also perhaps to be
naming Monday the successors/HC.....He wont fire anyone on camera, thats
for sure, it would be already done. But thats the news!
Ralph has always done the things right. Think about this guys. The NFL
could even have a hand in this. This could set the tone on how aging
super star owners step down. It makes sense instead of the guy just
dying like other owners who do in a middle of a season. This just gives
it a better ribbon and makes things look better prepared from the
organization standpoint and the league standpoint. Having owners die in
term is not the example they want.
THIS IS HUGE! and go.....
At this point, based on the amount of speculation surrounding it from Bills' insiders, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that a change in ownership could be under way in Buffalo, and I firmly believe that Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly, along with their group of investors, will have some kind of control over the team. All of this, however, still falls under the category of "speculation." The picture will become clearer tomorrow, and you can count on us to continue to report anything solid that comes our way.
[
UPDATE 1/1/2013] Via Jason La Canfora of CBS:
Buffalo Bills CEO Russ Brandon has essentially taken over acting ownership duties for aging owner Ralph Wilson, according to a league source.
Brandon will assume a team president-type position, and the team also is
planning a transition period during which assistant GM Doug Whaley will
take over for Buddy Nix. The Bills scheduled a news conference for noon
ET Tuesday to address the organization's future.
The team will
go up for sale upon the passing of Wilson, 94, and sources said Brandon
will be the primary figure in their coaching search.
So, the rumors turned out to be half true, as a major change in ownership did occur on Tuesday, but this doesn't
exactly explain what the tweet from Thurman Thomas was actually about. The "group of investors" involving Thomas and Kelly is a rumor that has existed for years. At this point, it's hard not to question whether or not it's totally myth, even though the inside sources that swear by it have mostly been credible ones. All in all, who the team will be sold to in the near future, as Wilson is pretty far up there in age, still remains a mystery.
[UPDATE] For those of you with Facebook, here. For those of you without it, this was posted on the FB of The Buffalo Range, a Buffalo sports forum, on 12/28/12:
[UPDATE] Along with a number of questionable reports over the course of the week, this was posted by boards.buffalobills.forum.com executive member Chan on 12/30/12. Look into his board history and take him for however credible a middle man you'd like him to be... WARNING... The grammar in the post presented below makes it painful to read:
At this point, based on the amount of speculation surrounding it from Bills' insiders, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that a change in ownership could be under way in Buffalo, and I firmly believe that Thurman Thomas and Jim Kelly, along with their group of investors, will have some kind of control over the team. All of this, however, still falls under the category of "speculation." The picture will become clearer tomorrow, and you can count on us to continue to report anything solid that comes our way.
[UPDATE 1/1/2013] Via Jason La Canfora of CBS:
So, the rumors turned out to be half true, as a major change in ownership did occur on Tuesday, but this doesn't exactly explain what the tweet from Thurman Thomas was actually about. The "group of investors" involving Thomas and Kelly is a rumor that has existed for years. At this point, it's hard not to question whether or not it's totally myth, even though the inside sources that swear by it have mostly been credible ones. All in all, who the team will be sold to in the near future, as Wilson is pretty far up there in age, still remains a mystery.