Pegula divests from sports agency to clear way for Bills purchase

Billionaire oil tycoon Terry Pegula officially divested his interest in Five Star Athlete Management, a prominent sports agency he purchased in 2011, clearing the way for he and his wife, Kim, to complete their purchase of the Buffalo Bills for an NFL record $1.4 billion.

After the league finance committee unanimously approved the purchase agreement between the Pegulas and the Bills, the divesting move was the last formal step necessary for the Pegulas to complete their deal without complication. NFL owners will vote to approve the sale of the team at league meetings in October.

As owner of Five Star, which is currently headed by veteran agent Todd France, the firm represented over 50 NFL players including Pro Bowlers Vernon Davis, Demaryius Thomas and Aqib Talib. France has retaken full ownership and control of the firm, a source familiar with the transaction indicated.

"Due to our successful bid for the Buffalo Bills football franchise, we were compelled by NFL rules to divest our interest in 5 Star Athlete Management," the Pegulas said in a statement emailed to Yahoo Sports. "We are very confident that Todd will continue to work diligently and zealously on behalf of his clients. We want to thank Todd for the partnership and thank him and his staff for their hard work and support during our time with them."

In an era where consolidation has been the name of the game for a number of the most prominent sports agencies – CAA, Relativity Sports and Lagardere Unlimited are all agencies that have purchased the practices of elite agents in recent years – Five Star finds itself in the relatively unique position of operating as an agent-owned operation after once having been acquired.

"Like I said back in 2011, it was a huge honor to be hand-picked by Terry and Kim to acquire my agency," France said. "Being involved with such great people was an amazing experience. I couldn't be happier for them as they work toward finalizing becoming the next owner of the Buffalo Bills."