Trump had already attempted to buy the Baltimore Colts, before the NFL franchise relocated to Indianapolis in 1984.
He then turned down the chance to buy the Dallas Cowboys for $50m in 1984 and bought the Generals instead for $9m.
“I feel sorry for the poor guy who is going to buy the Dallas Cowboys,” he told the New York Times.
Jerry Jones became the Cowboys’ owner in 1989. ‘America’s Team’ won three Super Bowls in the ’90s and are now the world’s most valuable sports team at $10.1bn (£7.5bn)., external
After the USFL’s demise, Trump pulled out of discussions in 1988 to buy the New England Patriots, who have won six Super Bowls under current owner Robert Kraft.
Trump focused on other enterprises, becoming a reality TV star on The Apprentice, until the Buffalo Bills were put up for sale in 2014.
Trump claims he bid $1bn in cash but Terry Pegula, who already owned the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, ultimately bought the Bills for $1.4bn.
That bidding process was mentioned during the fraud trial that ruled against Trump – who had denied all accusations – in 2024, before his $500m (£372m) penalty was overturned last week.
His former lawyer Michael Cohen used it as an example of how he would inflate Trump’s assets, in that case claiming a net worth of $8bn in a bid to secure a loan to buy the Bills.
Documents also showed Trump declined to provide financial statements to the Bills’ bankers – one of whom testified that, instead, Trump “gave us handouts of the Forbes list of the top-paid entertainers”.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has repeatedly claimed that before Pegula’s takeover was approved by NFL team owners in October 2014, he received a call from Trump in which he said: “If they screw me over, I am going to show them. I’m going to get them all back. I’m going to run for president.”
Eight months later, Trump announced he was doing just that. He later said: “If I bought that team, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”
