Terry’s eldest daughter, Laura Pegula, continues to play a prominent role within One Bills Drive
Following a traumatic heart attack that occurred nearly two years ago, Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim Pegula’s continued battle attempting a return to health has paved a vastly different path than what safety Damar Hamlin experienced. In a story penned by Tim Graham for The Athletic, it was revealed that this past February:
“Terry Pegula filed to have Kim ruled incapacitated and to be made her guardian. A panel of three court-appointed examiners recommended incapacitation, and on March 23, 2023, a judge named Terry the ‘plenary guardian of the person and property’ of his wife.”
13 months ago, a court ruled Kim Pegula incapacitated and appointed Terry Pegula "plenary guardian of person and property."
— Tim Graham (@ByTimGraham) May 1, 2024
To meet NFL succession plan guidelines, Terry has designated Laura, daughter from his first marriage, to take over Bills if needed.https://t.co/LzGxaHsRtE
A “longtime Pegula family associate” who has been apprised of Kim’s condition and long-term prognosis is quoted in Graham’s article as saying “‘Kim is not coming back’” — with Graham adding: “to the Bills or Sabres front office.”
Most recently, Terry has transferred a small percentage of team ownership to his eldest daughter, Laura Pegula, to satisfy NFL policy meant to aid succession planning. Since Kim Pegula’s heart attack, Terry Pegula has brought Laura — his 41-year-old daughter from his first marriage — further into the fray of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres’ front-offices. Last year, she represented the Bills at the annual owners meeting, and she continues to stand in for the team in key situations, most visibly during the team’s game last season against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, UK.
With so much turbulence in the Bills’ front office and plenty of news coming out of One Bills Drive as it relates to Terry Pegula’s role with the team, not all of the press has been met with favorable applause.
Some of that may perhaps be due in large part to the unfortunate timing. The elephant in the room of course being one very expensive and mostly publicly funded new stadium. Kim’s health issues and Terry’s recent financial explorations appears to have renewed concern among the fan base regarding the future of the Bills in Western New York.
It’s important to remember that the team’s new stadium is set to open in 2026 and will carry a 30-year lease and attached non-relocation clause. That would lead one to believe there’s no reason to fret about the team moving any time soon. But 30 years isn’t forever, and there’s no telling what ownership looks like in three decades. The same may be true just 10 years from now. Predictably, fans just want to better understand the succession plan, which has now clearly been modified from the original intent 10 years ago.
When the Pegulas purchased the Bills a decade ago, it was common understanding that Kim Pegula would succeed her husband upon his passing — due to Terry being 19 years Kim’s elder. But with her current health concerns, it’s reasonable to expect that their long-term plans have been upended.
To that end, news broke in mid-April that Terry Pegula has begun exploring selling a 25% non-controlling, minority stake ownership in the Buffalo Bills. The pervading thought behind such a sale seems to imply it’s to offset the Pegulas’ costs to help finance the new stadium. But that’s nothing more than speculative at this point, and will remain so until, if ever, Terry Pegula decides to reveal his intent.
When they finalized the purchase of the Bills, the Pegulas stated that the team would eventually be passed on to their children. With the events of the last two years, it now appears that the timeline to “eventually” has been sped up considerably.
Through their marriage, Kim and Terry have three children: Jessica, Kelly, and Matthew. Including Laura Pegula from Terry’s previous marriage, that would leave future ownership concerns to the four siblings. Given the moves to more deeply incorporate Laura Pegula in the Buffalo Bills’ organization and the small amount of ownership now transferred to her, it stands to reason that she’ll succeed her father and step-mother as the head of the “controlling family” regarding NFL ownership.
As the successor with a controlling interest, upon the passing of Kim and Terry Pegula, Laura and her immediate family would claim a 30% ownership in the Buffalo Bills. Her half siblings and any other family members (extended or otherwise) would be allowed and eligible (if so desired) to own smaller percentages of the team — down to as little as 1%.
For fans, what’s left is a whole lot of wondering and few if any concrete answers. Will Jessica, Kelly, and Matthew find themselves frozen out of future team ownership? Kim and Terry’s oldest child, Jessica, is very successful professional tennis player. At one point, her husband, Taylor Gahagen, held a leadership role with the Buffalo Bills. Terry Pegula used to laud Gahagen’s future potential with the Bills — until he was fired. And we don’t know why Gahagen was dismissed. We also don’t know if there’s a rift in the family as a result, and what it all means for Jessica and Taylor’s options as future owners of the team.
The Buffalo Bills should be safe and secure in Orchard Park, NY for at least the next three decades. It stands to reason that Terry Pegula is exercising his due diligence to ensure the team’s long-term future, but time will tell how it all plays out.