Cam Neely: Jeremy Jacobs Won't Pursue Purchasing Bills If It Means Giving Up Bruins Ownership
BOSTON (CBS) -- Reports surfaced earlier this week that Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs was interested in purchasing the Buffalo Bills, after longtime owner Ralph Wilson passed away.
However, on Thursday afternoon's edition of Felger & Massarotti, Bruins president Cam Neely said Jacobs won't pursue purchasing the Bills, because the NFL does not allow owners to also own other professional sports teams in different cities.
"He has no interest in getting out of hockey," Neely said of Jacobs. "He's been extremely happy with his ownership here in Boston and he's enjoying how the team is playing. He told me that he has no interest right now, or doesn't have any interest at all to give up the Boston Bruins."
Jacobs purchased the Boston Bruins in 1975, while his company -- Delaware North -- acquired the Boston Garden. The 74-year-old Jacobs employs his son, Jeremy, as the principal of the Bruins.
"He really enjoys owning the Boston Bruins. I can tell you that that's what he told me," Neely said on Felger & Mazz. "He really enjoys owning the Boston Bruins, he enjoys his role with the National Hockey League, and I think he's very passionate about this organization."
Michael Felger asked Neely if there was a way around the NFL's rule, wherein Jeremy Jacobs could "sell" the Bruins to his son, Charlie, in order to buy the Bills. Neely said on that question, he was not sure.
Jacobs serves as the chairman of the NHL board of governors, and as a resident of Buffalo, he was inducted into the Western New York Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
"I asked him. Like anybody else, you start wondering how true it may be," Neely said of how he raised the topic with Jacobs. "I had a feeling of what the answer would be, but just in one of the many conversations we had, I asked him."
The Buffalo News initially reported that the Jacobs family "leads the list of potential local suitors," with Donald Trump being another main player. Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula and former Sabres owner B. Thomas Golisano were also named in the report as potential buyers.
Neely also discussed the Bruins' potential first-round playoff opponent, Dennis Seidenberg's progress and planned renovations for the TD Garden.
