Prospective Buffalo Bills owner Donald Trump has expressed his belief that his history with the NFL would not affect any potential bid for the team.
Trump entered direct competition with the league in 1983 having bought the New Jersey Generals, playing a major role in the USFL switching from a spring schedule to one that saw them take on the NFL.
However, the 67-year-old billionaire believes that his move earned him the respect of NFL owners and does not foresee any problems arising due to the incident.
"I think the NFL owners respected me for it because I took a dead league and made it hot. But my thing when I bought the team was, 'I will not play football in the spring,'" Trump told The Buffalo News.
"Even if they would have teetered along for another couple years, it wouldn't have survived in the spring. And if I hadn't gotten involved, they wouldn't have lasted another season.
"The NFL owners that I know and are very honest about it, they'll tell you I did a good job and they have respect for me. And I have respect for them."
Trump recently insisted that he was serious about his desire to purchase the Bills and stressed that he would not move them from Buffalo if he was successful.
