Total Pro Sports
In 1988, Donald Trump nearly became the owner of the New England Patriots. No, seriously.
The man who would later become president once tried to buy one of the NFL’s most iconic franchises. It sounds like an alternate timeline from a football multiverse, but it came very close to happening.
According to The New York Times, Trump was deep in talks with the Sullivan family, who owned the Patriots then.
Their finances were in a tailspin thanks partly to a disastrous $22 million Jacksons’ tour investment. Trump had “exclusive negotiating rights” for nearly two weeks. He pledged to keep the team in New England. The deal looked close, until it wasn’t.
So, why didn’t it happen?
It wasn’t about the debt. Sure, the team and stadium reportedly carried $104 million in debt, but that wasn’t the dealbreaker. CBS Sports reported in 2015 that the real issue was much bigger: NFL owners didn’t want Trump anywhere near the league.
Trump’s past with the USFL haunted him. In 1983, he bought the New Jersey Generals. He shelled out big money for Doug Flutie and tried to take the NFL head-on. It didn’t end well. The USFL collapsed by 1985, and most NFL owners blamed Trump. Then came the 1986 antitrust lawsuit the USFL filed, and technically won. The jury awarded the USFL just $3. The bad blood stuck.
By 1988, the NFL team’s ownership still needed approval from other owners. And according to Boston.com, they blocked Trump’s path. Plain and simple. They saw him as a reckless disruptor. Many “loathed” him. Even with exclusive negotiating rights, he never made a formal offer. Without league approval, he never could.
Not everyone opposed Trump’s NFL ambitions, then-Browns owner Art Modell backed him, but most didn’t. The Patriots were sold to Victor Kiam for $84 million, and Robert Kraft later took over in 1994. Trump tried again in 2014 with the Bills but lost to the Pegulas. He also passed on buying the Cowboys in the ’80s, calling it a “sure money loser.”
Still, NFL fans can’t help but wonder. If just one vote had gone differently, would Trump have been the man shaking hands with Tom Brady and hoisting six Lombardi trophies?
Also Read: REPORT: NFL Team Eyes President Donald Trump’s Help In Unprecedented Move
