Ron Raccuias ousting, Bills front-office shakeup yield more questions than answers

September 19, 2024

Ron Raccuia was among seven dignitaries welcomed on stage for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Buffalo Bills’ new $1.54 billion stadium.

He sat at owner Terry Pegula’s right arm and was brought to the lectern first, introduced by the emcee as “instrumental” in the team’s business operations and having “a huge hand in making this stadium a reality.”

As the event unfolded, few likely noticed what wasn’t said for the next 31 minutes after Raccuia sat back down. These kinds of ceremonies feature a blizzard of shoutouts and thank-yous that quickly numb an audience’s ears. But those who paid close attention might have noticed that nobody — not Pegula, not Gov. Kathy Hochul, not Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz, not NFL commissioner Roger Goodell — credited Raccuia as the Bills’ chief operating officer and lead stadium negotiator.

Perhaps the silence should have been a hint. Six weeks after Raccuia stuck his golden shovel into the dirt on June 5, the Bills fired him, punctuating one of the most meteoric career arcs in Buffalo sports history and hitting yet another reset button within a Pegula front office.

The move was abrupt and unforeseen. Just five months ago, Buffalo Business First ranked Raccuia first on its annual list of western New York’s most powerful people — four spots ahead of Pegula.

Why would Pegula fire the public face of the Bills front office and someone he so recently trusted to oversee crucial negotiations that determined whether the franchise would consider leaving town?

The Athletic spoke with 11 people who worked directly with Raccuia or the Bills during nearly two years of stadium financing and lease negotiations to learn how the relationship collapsed. All requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the topic. The Bills, through a spokesperson, declined to comment. Raccuia didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The Bills’ news release stated they “parted ways” with Raccuia. No reason was given, although people on both sides say he was fired. Two people close to Raccuia say he was “blindsided” and “heartbroken” by Pegula’s decision. Interviews revealed Raccuia’s tenure ended because he operated with too much autonomy after Kim Pegula’s debilitating cardiac arrest in June 2022.

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Tied to Raccuia’s departure, Terry Pegula took over as president, a move that suggests his wife won’t return to her role. Terry Pegula also named three new executives, including Buffalo Sabres and Pegula Sports and Entertainment COO John Roth, to replace Raccuia.

Working with Kim Pegula, Raccuia saw his influence steadily increase in the five years after former president and CEO Russ Brandon resigned. Back then, Raccuia was one of eight executive vice presidents. When the 2022 Bills season opened, he was COO and the lone executive listed under Kim Pegula. There was little reason to doubt Raccuia’s permanence. In the past, he noted his intention was to remain with the Bills through 2026, the first season in their new stadium, and then retire to Southern California.

Everything changed, however, with Kim Pegula away from her second-floor office at One Bills Drive. People close to Raccuia said he privately has said he never had Terry’s ear like he did Kim’s and has regretted his failure to pivot from her management style to her husband’s. Lack of communication was said to be a significant sticking point for the multibillionaire.

A person involved with the decision said Terry Pegula prefers a blend of executives reporting to him instead of one person. Besides, three sources said, Pegula just doesn’t fancy Raccuia, who became known for an unapologetically aggressive business approach to negotiations and with employees.

Three people with direct knowledge of the Bills’ stadium negotiations said Hochul grew to despise Raccuia’s tactics and said she contemplated requesting his absence from meetings. One of those sources quoted Hochul as calling Raccuia’s methods “arrogant” and “obnoxious.” Hochul’s press office didn’t respond to a request for comment from The Athletic regarding this story.

Nevertheless, when the stadium deal was struck in March 2022, the Bills were deemed to have dominated their negotiations with New York State and Erie County. NFL owners were giddy with the deal Raccuia oversaw. Politicians and watchdogs criticized Hochul and Poloncarz for surrendering $850 million in public money for a stadium that was projected to cost $1.4 billion.

A rendering of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium. (Courtesy of the Buffalo Bills)

But the public money is capped. The NFL’s G4 loan program accounts for $150 million, and the Pegulas will be responsible for the balance, which has been escalating.

The estimate already had risen to $1.54 billion by May. Two people with deep knowledge of the project independently predicted the stadium’s final price tag will be between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion as material costs likely continue to rise over the next three years, New York’s unionized labor costs accumulate and Buffalo’s potentially harsh weather looms.

The western New York business community also has been abuzz about the role ADPRO Sports might have played in Raccuia’s dismissal.

Raccuia founded the apparel company in 1998. He also was an NFL player agent, representing popular Bills players such as running back Fred Jackson, cornerback Terrence McGee, safety Coy Wire and punter Brian Moorman. Along the way, Raccuia was appointed to the Canisius College Board of Trustees, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership board and the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission advisory council. He’s still the Erie County Medical Center Foundation’s board chairman.

In 2017, he sold 70 percent of ADPRO Sports to Kim Pegula and her three children: Jessie, Kelly and Matthew. Raccuia remained president and chairman of a board that resided outside the Pegula Sports and Entertainment umbrella.

Two days after the Bills’ leadership shuffle, the Pegulas announced they’d sold ADPRO Sports to Legends, the same company to which the Bills have contracted much of their new stadium’s business, including sponsorships, PSLs, merchandise and concessions.

Legends’ involvement has been touchy for some around Buffalo. The consulting and hospitality group, formed by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, took the Bills’ food-and-beverage contract from local company Delaware North after 30 years.

Two people involved with the ADPRO Sports sale said talks among Raccuia, the Pegula family and Legends began in December and had nothing to do with Raccuia’s exit; the moves were purely coincidental.

In addition to appointing Roth, whom Pegula hired for the Sabres and PSE in January, the Bills added the senior VP of business administration title to general counsel Kathryn D’Angelo and promoted Josh Dziurlikowski to senior VP of finance and business administration.

On the field, Buffalo has been a model of NFL stability since 2017, building a perennial Super Bowl contender under general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott. The front office, meanwhile, has been among the NFL’s most volatile over the past five years. A procession of executives has been jettisoned.

When an internal investigation into workplace misconduct forced Brandon’s resignation in May 2018, the Bills listed eight members on their executive leadership team. Seven of them now are gone, with the eighth no longer listed among the other executives and planning to leave soon on good terms.

Ousted from the front office in those five years: chief operating officer Bruce Popko, executive vice president of marketing and brand strategy Brent Rossi and executive vice president of business development Erica Muhleman in February 2019; executive vice president of finance Chuck Lamattina in July 2020; executive vice president of media and content Mark Preisler in January 2022; and Raccuia two weeks ago. Health issues pressed executive vice president and general counsel Gregg Brandon to leave the Bills and PSE last year.

Each departure was separate from the Pegula properties’ mass layoffs in March and April 2020.

Raccuia was executive vice president of licensing and branded merchandise at the time of Russ Brandon’s exit. As EVP roles were lopped off, few were filled, further galvanizing Raccuia’s authority at One Bills Drive. Chief administrative officer Dave Wheat’s contract wasn’t renewed after the 2019 season. The Bills credited Raccuia with securing the Highmark Stadium naming rights in 2021 after COVID-19 concerns forced New Era Cap to terminate its sponsorship early.

Even before Kim Pegula’s medical emergency, Raccuia was the most trusted Bills business voice outside the family. In Kim Pegula’s absence, Raccuia helped fill that vacuum, too.

By the time the 2022 season kicked off, Buffalo’s front-office directory listed only Beane and Raccuia under the “executive” heading. Raccuia’s title was broad, simply “executive vice president” with no departmental designation. COO eventually was added to Raccuia’s purview.

Named right beneath the “executive” heading was senior vice president of business administration Jason Sinnarajah. Hired in July 2020, Sinnarajah left the organization in March and this week took over as the Kansas City Royals’ COO. Sinnarajah’s role with the Bills remained vacant for four months, only amplifying Raccuia’s voice.

(Top photo of Terry Pegula: Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images)

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