Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, and is building a new stadium which will be completed in 2026.

Founded in 1959 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), the team joined the NFL in 1970 after the AFL–NFL merger.^[9][10] The team’s name is taken from an All-America Football Conference (AAFC) franchise from Buffalo that was named after western frontiersman Buffalo Bill.^[11] Drawing much of its fanbase from western New York^[12] and neighboring southern Ontario,^[13] the Bills are the only NFL team that plays home games in the state of New York.^[a] The franchise is owned by Terry Pegula, who purchased the Bills after the death of the original owner Ralph Wilson in 2014,^[14] and a coalition of private equity funds and investors who purchased a minority stake in the team in 2024.^[15]

The Bills advanced to the AFL Championship Game three years in a row from 1964 to 1966, winning the first two—the only major professional sports championships for a team representing Buffalo. They struggled heavily in the latter years of the AFL and for much of their first two decades in the NFL, tallying only five winning seasons and three postseason berths from 1967 to 1987. They became perennial postseason contenders in the late 1980s; from 1990 to 1993, they appeared in a record four consecutive Super Bowls and lost each one. From the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, the Bills endured the longest playoff drought in the four major North American professional sports, a 17-year span that made them the last franchise in the four leagues to qualify for the postseason in the 21st century.^[16][17] They returned to consistent postseason contention by the late 2010s,^[18] but not the Super Bowl. Their four Super Bowl appearances are the most among NFL franchises that have not won the Super Bowl, a record they share with the Minnesota Vikings.^[19][b]

In 2024, the Bills became one of the first NFL teams to sell part of their franchise to outside private equity investors. 20.6% of the team interest was sold at a valuation of $5.6 billion, including 10% to the American investment group Arctos Partners LP.^[20][21]

The Bills began competitive play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League led by head coach Buster Ramsey and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970.^[22] In the first two seasons, the Bills went 5–8–1 and 6–8 under Ramsey.^[23][24] The Bills won two consecutive American Football League titles in 1964 and 1965 with quarterback Jack Kemp and coach Lou Saban, but the club has yet to win a league championship since.^[25][26]

Once the AFL–NFL merger took effect, the Bills became the second NFL team to represent the city; they followed the Buffalo All-Americans, a charter member of the league.^[27] Buffalo had been left out of the league since the All-Americans (by that point renamed the Bisons) folded in 1929; the Bills were no less than the third professional non-NFL team to compete in the city before the merger, After the Indians/Tigers of the early 1940s and an earlier team named the Bills, originally the Bisons, in the late 1940s in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).

After the AFL–NFL merger, the Bills were generally mediocre in the 1970s but featured All-Pro running back O. J. Simpson.^[28] After being pushed to the brink of failure in the mid-1980s, the collapse of the United States Football League^[29] and a series of highly drafted players such as Jim Kelly (who initially played for the USFL instead of the Bills), Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith and Darryl Talley allowed the Bills to rebuild into a perennial contender in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s under head coach Marv Levy, a period in which the team won four consecutive AFC Championships; the team nevertheless lost all four subsequent Super Bowls, records in both categories that still stand.^[30][31][32]

The rise of the division rival New England Patriots under Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, along with numerous failed attempts at rebuilding in the 2000s and 2010s, helped prevent the Bills from reaching the playoffs in seventeen consecutive seasons between 2000 and 2016, a 17-year drought that was the longest active playoff drought in all major professional sports at the time.^[33][34]

Mike Mularkey coached the Bills in the 2004 and 2005 seasons.^[35] He went 9–7 but missed the postseason in 2004 and 5–11 in 2005.^[36] He resigned from the team after the 2005 season.^[37]

From 2006 to 2009, the Bills were coached by Dick Jauron.^[38] After three consecutive 7–9 seasons, Jauron was dismissed after a 3–6 start to his fourth season.^[39][40] Perry Fewell finished out the season as interim with a 3–4 mark.^[41]

From 2010 to 2012, the Bills were coached by Chan Gailey.^[42] The team had Ryan Fitzpatrick as their quarterback in those seasons.^[43] Gailey was fired after three consecutive last place finishes in the AFC East.^[44]

Doug Marrone was hired to be the Bills’ head coach before the 2013 season.^[45] The Bills went 6–10 in the 2013 season and improved to 9–7 in the 2014 season.^[46][47] Marrone decided to step down as head coach after the season.^[48] On October 8, 2014, Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula received unanimous approval to acquire the Bills during the NFL owners’ meetings, becoming the second ownership group of the team after team founder Ralph Wilson.^[14]

Before the 2015 season, the team hired former Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan to become the next head coach of the Bills.^[49] The team went 8–8 in 2015 and 7–9 in 2016.^[50][51] Ryan was dismissed with one game remaining in the 2016 season, with Anthony Lynn finishing the season as interim.^[52]

Under head coach Sean McDermott,^[53] the Bills broke the playoff drought, appearing in the playoffs for six of the next seven seasons.^[54] The team drafted Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft.^[55] The team earned its first division championship and playoff wins since 1995 during the 2020 season, attributed to the Bills’ own development of a core talent including Allen, Stefon Diggs, Matt Milano, and Tre’Davious White.^[56][57] In the 2020 season, the Bills reached the AFC Championship for the first time since the 1993 season.^[58] However, their run ended with a 38–24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.^[59] The Bills won the AFC East with a 11–6 record in the 2021 season.^[60] The Bills defeated the Patriots 47–17 in the Wild Card Round before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs 42–36 in overtime.^[61][62]

In the 2022 season, the Bills won the AFC East with a 13–3 record.^[63] The season saw a cancelled game against the Bengals due to a near-fatal medical episode with Damar Hamlin, who eventually recovered and returned to football activities the following season.^[64][65] The team defeated the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card Round 34–31 before falling to the Cincinnati Bengals 27–10 in the Divisional Round.^[66][67] In the 2023 season, the Bills won the AFC East for the fourth consecutive season.^[68] In the Wild Card Round, they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31–17 before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round 27–24.^[69][70] In the 2024 season, the Bills finished with a 13–4 record and won another AFC East title.^[71] After wins over the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card Round and the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round, the Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship.^[72][73][74]

After Kim Pegula was incapacitated by a 2022 vascular brain injury, a portion of her stake in the team was transferred to her stepdaugher Laura,^[75] with a 20% stake in the team sold to a coalition of private equity investors and former Toronto athletes Jozy Altidore, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady in December 2024.^[15] The Bills announced plans to build a new stadium to replace Highmark Stadium to be ready by 2026.^[76]

For their first two seasons, the Bills wore uniforms based on those of the Detroit Lions at the time. Ralph Wilson had been a minority owner of the Lions before founding the Bills, and the Bills’ predecessors in the AAFC had also worn blue and silver uniforms.^[4][77]

The team’s original colors were Honolulu blue, silver, and white, and the helmets were silver with no striping. There was no logo on the helmet, which displayed the players’ numbers on each side.

In 1962, the standing red bison was designated as the logo and took its place on a white helmet.^[4] In 1962, the team’s colors also changed to red, white, and blue. The team switched to blue jerseys with red and white shoulder stripes, similar to the Buffalo Bisons AHL hockey team of the same era. The helmets were white with a red center stripe.^[4] The jerseys again saw a change in 1964 when the shoulder stripes were replaced by a distinctive stripe pattern on the sleeves consisting of four stripes, two thicker inner stripes and two thinner outer stripes all bordered by red piping. By 1965, red and blue center stripes were put on the helmets.^[78]

The Bills introduced blue pants worn with the white jerseys in 1973, the last year of the standing buffalo helmet. The blue pants remained through 1985.^[79] The face mask on the helmet was blue from 1974 through 1986 before changing to white.

The standing bison logo was replaced by a blue charging one with a red slanting stripe streaming from its horn. The newer emblem, still the primary one used by the franchise, was designed by aerospace designer Stevens Wright in 1974.^[80][81]

In 1984, the helmet’s shell color was changed from white to red, primarily to help Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson distinguish them more readily from three of their division rivals at that time, the Baltimore Colts, the Miami Dolphins, and the New England Patriots, who all also wore white helmets at that point. Ferguson said, “Everyone we played had white helmets at that time. Our new head coach Kay Stephenson just wanted to get more of a contrast on the field that may help spot a receiver down the field.”^[82] (The Patriots have worn silver helmets since 1993, the Colts have since been realigned to the AFC South, and in 2019 the New York Jets have since switched back to green-colored helmets, after playing 20 years with white ones.)

In 2002, under the direction of general manager Tom Donahoe, the Bills’ uniforms went through radical changes. A darker shade of blue was introduced as the primary jersey color, and nickel gray was introduced as an accent color. Both the blue and white jerseys featured red side panels. The white jerseys included a dark blue shoulder yoke and royal blue numbers. The helmet remained primarily red with one navy blue, two nickel, two royal blue, two white stripes, and a white face mask. A new logo, a stylized “B” consisting of two bullets and a more detailed buffalo head on top, was proposed and had been released (it can be seen on a few baseball caps that were released for sale), but fan backlash led to the team retaining the running bison logo. The helmet logo adopted in 1974—a charging royal blue bison with a red streak, white horn, and eyeball—remained unchanged.

In 2005, the Bills revived the standing bison helmet and uniform of the mid-1960s as a throwback uniform.

The Bills usually wore the all-blue combination at home and the all-white combination on the road when not wearing the throwback uniforms. They stopped wearing blue-on-white after 2006, while the white-on-blue was not worn after 2007.

For the 2011 season, the Bills unveiled a new uniform design, an updated rendition of the 1975–83 design. This change includes a return to the white helmets with “charging buffalo” logo, and a return to royal blue instead of navy.^[83][84] The set initially featured striped socks, but by 2021, the Bills gradually reduced its usage and began wearing either all-white or all-blue hosiery without stripes in most games.

Buffalo sporadically wore white at home in the 1980s, including all eight home games in 1984, but stopped doing so beginning in 1987. On November 6, 2011, against the New York Jets, the Bills wore white at home for the first time since 1986. Since 2011, the Bills have worn white for home games, either with their primary uniform or a throwback set.

The Bills’ uniform received minor alterations as part of the league’s new uniform contract with Nike. The new Nike uniform was unveiled on April 3, 2012.^[85]

On November 12, 2015, the Bills and the New York Jets became the first two teams to participate in the NFL’s Color Rush uniform initiative, with Buffalo wearing an all-red combination for the first time in team history.^[86] Like the primary uniforms, the set initially had red socks with white and blue stripes, but in 2020, it was replaced with red socks without stripes.

A notable use of the Bills’ uniforms outside of football was in the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships when the United States men’s national junior ice hockey team wore Bills-inspired uniforms in their outdoor game against Team Canada on December 29, 2017.^[87] This game was also played at the Bills’ home stadium, Highmark Stadium.

On April 1, 2021, the team announced they would wear white face masks during the upcoming season and beyond.^[88][89]

On December 22, 2024, the team debuted a brand new uniform combination consisting of their red Color Rush uniform and white pants.^[90]

On July 22, 2025, the Bills brought back the 1984–2010 red “charging buffalo” helmet as an alternate, which they would wear January 4, 2026 against the New York Jets with the primary blue uniforms. Additionally, after last wearing the “standing buffalo” throwback in 2021, the Bills brought back the design for two home games to mark original Highmark Stadium’s final season.^[91]

On August 28, 2025, the Bills unveiled a “Rivalries” uniform, which they would wear once per season at home against each of their AFC East opponents over a three-year period. The all-white uniform, dubbed the “Cold Front”, featured silver numbers trimmed in blue and a modified “charging buffalo” in silver with blue trim, along with silver and blue stripes on the helmet. Red was not featured in the uniform, as it signified warmth.^[92]

The Bills have rivalries with their three AFC East opponents (the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and New York Jets) and with the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts (a former divisional opponent), Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars,^[93] and Dallas Cowboys.^[94]

The Cleveland Browns shared a rivalry with the Bills’ predecessors in the All-America Football Conference. The current teams have a more friendly relationship and have played sporadically since the AFL–NFL merger.^[95]

This is often considered Buffalo’s most famous rivalry. The Bills were one of the original eight American Football League, while the Dolphins began playing in 1966 as an expansion team.^[96] The rivalry first gained prominence when the Dolphins won every matchup against the Bills in the 1970s, and the first of the 1980s, for an NFL-record 20 straight wins against a single opponent.^[97] Fortunes changed in the following decades with the rise of Jim Kelly as Buffalo’s franchise quarterback. Though Kelly and Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino shared a competitive rivalry in the 1980s and 1990s, the Bills became dominant in the 1990s. Things cooled down after the retirements of Kelly and Marino and the rise of the New England Patriots in the 2000s and 2010s, but Miami remains a fierce rival of the Bills, coming in second place in a recent poll of Buffalo’s primary rival,^[98] and the two teams have typically been close to each other in win–loss records. They have often competed for the division title since Tua Tagovailoa became Miami’s quarterback, despite Buffalo’s 13–2 record over the Dolphins under Josh Allen. Miami leads the overall series 62–61–1 as of 2025, but Buffalo has the advantage in the playoffs at 4–1, including a win in the 1992 AFC Championship Game.^[99]

The rivalry with the New England Patriots began when both teams were original franchises in the American Football League (AFL) before the NFL–AFL merger, but did not gain notability until the emergence of New England quarterback Tom Brady in 2001.^[100] The teams were very competitive before the 2000s. However, Brady’s arrival in the early 2000s led to the Patriots dominating the AFC East, including the Bills, for two decades.^[101][102] As a result, New England replaced the Dolphins as Buffalo’s most hated rival.^[98][103] The Bills have taken a 8–3 edge since Brady’s departure in 2020, which included consecutive AFC East titles from 2020 to 2024 and a season sweep of the Patriots in two of the first three years. In 2021, the Bills dominated in a 47–17 victory against the Patriots in the two teams’ first playoff match-up in 59 years, which saw the Bills score a touchdown on every offensive drive throughout the entire game and, as such, is the only “perfect offensive game” in NFL history.^{[104][105][106]} Overall, the Patriots lead the series 79–51–1 as of 2024, but trail the Bills by a 48–47–1 margin without Brady on the field.^[107]

Several players have played for both teams, including Drew Bledsoe, Doug Flutie, Lawyer Milloy, Brandon Spikes, Scott Chandler, Chris Hogan, Mike Gillislee, and Stephon Gilmore.^[108]

The Bills and Jets, both original AFL teams, represent the state of New York, though the Jets have played their home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey, since 1984. While the rivalry represents the differences between New York City and Western New York, it has historically not been as intense as Buffalo’s rivalries with the Dolphins and Patriots. When not playing one another, the teams’ fan bases either have grudging respect or low-key annoyance for each other (stemming more from the broader upstate-downstate tensions than the teams or sport). The Bills-Jets rivalry has often become characterized by ugly games and shared mediocrity, but it has had a handful of competitive moments. The series heated up recently when former Jets head coach Rex Ryan became the Bills’ head coach for two seasons and had become notable again as Bills quarterback Josh Allen and former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, both drafted in the same year, maintained a friendly rivalry with one another.^[109][110] Buffalo leads the series 72–58 as of 2025, including a playoff win in 1981.^[111]

The Kansas City Chiefs, another original franchise in the AFL, have a long history against the Bills, despite the two teams never being in the same division. Buffalo currently leads the series 30–26–1, which has included seven playoff meetings, four of which were AFL/AFC Championship Games;^[112] Kansas City won the 1966 AFL Championship Game that determined the AFL’s representative in the first Super Bowl against the NFL champion Green Bay Packers,^[113] in addition to the 2020 and 2024 AFC Championship Games that saw the team advance to its second and fifth Super Bowl appearances in six years, respectively,^[114] while Buffalo defeated Kansas City in the 1993 AFC Championship Game to advance to its fourth straight Super Bowl appearance.^[115] However, after each victory in the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs or the Bills went on to lose the ensuing Super Bowl. Despite a lull in the series in the 2000s and 2010s, the rivalry gained attention as the Bills and Chiefs met in nine of ten years from 2008 to 2017.^[116][117]

After a two-year hiatus in the series, a rivalry between Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes developed, particularly in the post-season, drawing comparisons to Jim Kelly’s rivalry with Dan Marino as well as the rivalry between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.^[118] Since 2019, four high-profile postseason matchups occurred between the Bills and Chiefs. The four playoff games include the aforementioned 2020 Championship Game and the 2021 Divisional round game, the latter of which is now considered one of the greatest playoff games of all time, but was also controversial due to the league’s overtime rules.^[119][120] In 2023 divisional round, Bills lost to the Chiefs 24–27 as Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed the game-tying field goal attempt wide right, a play that evoked memories of Scott Norwood missing the game-winning field goal attempt in Super Bowl XXV^[121] In the 2024 AFC Championship Game, Bills failed to convert two 4th downs in the fourth quarter: the first was a 4th and inches quarterback sneak by Allen that was controversially ruled short of the line of gain and the second was a 4th and 5 pass from Allen that the tight end Kincaid dropped while sliding.^[122][123] The Chiefs went on to win 32–29. In the four playoff matchups between Allen and Mahomes, Mahomes leads the series 4–0.^[124]

A new rivalry emerged between the Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars after former Bills head coach Doug Marrone, who had quit the team after the 2014 season, was hired as a coaching assistant for Jacksonville and eventually rose to become the Jaguars’ head coach.^[93] The first game between the Marrone-led Jaguars was a London game in week 7 of the 2015 season, which saw the Jaguars’ win 34–31.^[125] The most important game of this series was an ugly, low-scoring Wild Card game in 2017 that saw the Jaguars win 10–3. This game is notable as it was the first Bills playoff appearance in 17 seasons.^[126] Before this, Jacksonville had handed Buffalo its first playoff loss in Bills Stadium in 1996.^[127] The Bills and Jaguars have since met three times. The first was a “rematch” game in week 12 of the 2018 season; the Bills won 24–21. The teams brawled after trash talk from former Jaguars players such as Jalen Ramsey.^{[128][129][130]} The second time was in week 9 of the 2021 season. By now, the “point” of the rivalry, Marrone’s feud with the Bills organization, and the personal drama between Bills and Jaguars players no longer applied as Marrone had been fired and replaced by Urban Meyer and all the players from the 2017 Jaguars team have since moved on to other teams or retired. Regardless, this game was the seventh-largest upset at the time in NFL history: the 15.5-point favorite Bills lost 9–6.^[131] The most recent meeting between the two teams was a 47–10 Bills win on Monday Night Football in 2024.^[132] The series is tied at 10–10.^[133]

The Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers) also share an extended history with the Bills, with both teams being original AFL clubs and rivals in that league’s East Division before the AFL-NFL merger. Matchups were intense in the 1980s and 1990s, with quarterback Warren Moon leading the Oilers against Jim Kelly’s Bills.^[134] Memorable playoff moments between the teams in the 1990s include The Comeback, in which the Frank Reich-led Bills overcame a 35–3 deficit to stun the Oilers 41–38 in 1992,^[134] and the Music City Miracle, in which the now-Titans scored on a near-last-minute kickoff return with a controversial lateral pass ruling to beat the Bills 22–16 in 1999.^[135] To add insult to injury, the Music City Miracle was Buffalo’s last playoff appearance until 2017, leading to resentment by Bills fans towards the Titans.^[136]

After both teams failed to reach the same success in the late 2000s to early 2010s, they returned to consistent playoff contention starting in 2017, resulting in several high-profile games,^[137] in addition to a brief resurgence of the rivalry based on shared success and mutual respect between 2018 and 2022, when the Titans were led by head coach Mike Vrabel (a former Patriots player) and running back Derrick Henry.^[138] The Titans currently lead the series 30–21, but the Bills lead in postseason meetings 2–1.^[139]

The Buffalo Bills have retired three numbers: No. 12 for Jim Kelly, No. 34 for Thurman Thomas, and No. 78 for Bruce Smith. Other numbers are no longer issued or are in reduced circulation.^[140][141]

Buffalo Bills retired numbers
No.	Player	Position	Tenure	Retired
12	Jim Kelly	QB	1986–1996[140]	November 19, 2001
34	Thurman Thomas	RB	1988–1999[142][143]	October 30, 2018
78	Bruce Smith	DE	1985–1999[141]	September 15, 2016

Reduced circulation:^[140]

• 83 Andre Reed, WR, 1985–1999 (Lee Evans III wore No. 83 by special permission)

Since the team’s earliest days, the number 31 was not supposed to be issued to any other player. The Bills had stationery and various other team merchandise showing a running player wearing that number, and it was not supposed to represent any specific person but the ‘spirit of the team.’ In the first three decades of the team’s existence, the number 31 was only seen once. In 1969, when reserve running back Preston Ridlehuber damaged his number 36 jersey during a game, equipment manager Tony Marchitte gave him the number 31 jersey to wear while repairing the number 36. The number 31 was not reissued until 1990 when first-round draft choice James Williams wore it for his first two seasons; it has since been returned to general circulation. Cornerback Rasul Douglas most recently wore the number through the 2024 season.

Number 32 had been withdrawn from circulation but not retired after O. J. Simpson. Former owner Ralph Wilson insisted on not reissuing the number, even after Simpson’s highly publicized murder case and later robbery conviction. The number was placed back into circulation in 2019 with Senorise Perry wearing the number that year;^[144] it was most recently worn by linebacker Nicholas Morrow until he was waived in January 2025.

Number 15 was historically only issued sparingly after the retirement of Jack Kemp.^[140] It was last worn by kicker Matt Prater in 2025 and previously by wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling in 2024, before he was released on October 15, 2024.^[145] Other numbers that have been historically issued only on rare circumstances included the 44 of Elbert Dubenion (worn as of 2024 by Joe Andreessen) and the 66 of Billy Shaw (worn since 2023 by Connor J. McGovern), each of which were typically only issued to players not expected to make the team’s regular season roster.^[140]

Number 1 has also rarely been used for reasons yet to be explained. While there is no proper explanation, Tommy Hughitt was a player-coach for the early Buffalo teams in the New York Pro Football League and NFL from 1918 to 1924 and was both a major on-field success and a fixture in Buffalo culture after his retirement as a politician and auto salesman. Hughitt was reported to wear number 1 during this time. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel currently wears the number; before Emmanuel Sanders‘s one-year stint with the Bills in 2021, it had been 19 years since it had been worn in the regular season when kicker Mike Hollis wore it in 2002.^[146]

Number 95 has not been reissued since the retirement of Kyle Williams in 2019.