Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs could buy the Bills, keep them in Buffalo

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The death of long-time Bills owner Ralph Wilson last week lead to much speculation about the future of the franchise. The beloved Wilson was dedicated to keeping the Bills in Buffalo, but many feared he was the last thing preventing what many saw as an inevitable relocation to a bigger market.

Now a familiar name has emerged as a top candidate to buy the team and keep them in Buffalo: Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs.

According to the Buffalo News, the Jacobs family have emerged as leaders amongst a list of local suitors for the team. Jacobs, who is worth an estimated $3.1 billion according to Forbes, is a Buffalo native and his company, Delaware North, is headquartered in Buffalo.

Jacobs ownership of the Bruins could prove problematic for this move. NFL rules prohibit any team from being owned by someone who owns another professional franchise in a different market. However, one of the Jacobs' sons could theoretically buy the team, as long as he terminated all connections to the Bruins. There's even the possibility that Jacobs Sr turns his Bruins ownership over to one of his sons, freeing himself to buy the Bills.

These possibilities makes this 2012 quote from Jeremy Jacobs Jr sound especially promising to Bills fans: "We will do what we can to ensure that the Bills stay in this town."

Jacobs has been the deserving target of criticism for much of his run as the Bruins owner, but he seems to have (finally) turned his reputation around somewhat in Boston. He's not without warts, as he was considered one of the driving forces behind last year's NHL lockout, but he's spent money on the team (for a change) and allowed the hockey people to make the decisions over the B's recent run of success.

Of course, this represents a massive improvement over the first thirty years of his ownership, when he was largely viewed as a cheapskate more interested in bottom-line profits than winning. A quick Google image search for "Jeremy Jacobs" brings up some unflattering comparisons to the Simpsons Mr. Burns.

Considering the current state of the franchise, Bills fans will be happy just to see the team bought by someone committed to keeping the team in Buffalo. If that person is someone other than Donald Trump, all the better for the #Billsmafia.