Theories abound as to why President-Elect Trump walked away from his successful reality show and relatively easy life to enter politics. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith doesn’t have a theory; he believes he has the answer, and it is to get back at the NFL.
Speaking to Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast earlier this week, Smith revealed that Trump told him he would run for president if the NFL blocked his purchase of the Buffalo Bills in 2014.
“He called me in 2014,” Smith told Maher. “This is a true story… He says, ‘Stephen A., I’m trying to buy the Buffalo Bills.’ Price tag was $1.4 billion. He had about $1.1 billion. I was being told he wasn’t gonna get the team.
“He said, ‘Stephen A., if these motherf*ckers get in my way’ – talking about the NFL owners – ‘these motherf*ckers get in my way, I’m gonna get them all back. I’m gonna run for president.’ That’s what he said!”
Trump ultimately did not purchase the Bills, and the Pegula family made the purchase.
The president-elect touched on this topic in an episode of Bussin’ with the Boys months ago.
“I don’t think it was a very serious run, but I gave them a guarantee of $1 billion, so that’s always serious, right?” Trump explained.
Had Trump purchased the Bills, it wouldn’t have been his first time owning a professional football team. The New York billionaire was the majority owner of the New Jersey Generals of the USFL in the 1980s.
He has also been connected to attempts to buy the then-Baltimore Colts, the New England Patriots, and the Dallas Cowboys.
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