Jessica Pegula is the No. 3 women's tennis player in the world, but she's also thinking about a future in sports ownership.
The 32-year-old athlete is the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula, the billionaire owners behind the NFL's Buffalo Bills and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. "I can't say that wouldn't be exciting if I got to help out with the organization one day," Pegula said in an interview with CNBC Sport. "I always thought that I wanted to be in the sporting world when I was done with tennis." Pegula said that despite the record high valuations and the recent team sales, she wouldn't want her family to sell the teams they own.
Sports valuations have skyrocketed in recent years — Terry and Kim Pegula bought the Bills for $1.4 billion in 2014, and CNBC recently valued the team at $8.5 billion. They purchased the Sabres in 2011 for $165 million, and the team is now valued at $1.42 billion, according to CNBC’s Official NHL Team Valuations 2025.
The Bills, who lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990s, have been among the NFL's top contenders in recent years behind MVP quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills are a perfect 3-0 so far this season. "I think it's been an amazing part of our family and a way we've grown closer," Pegula said. Pegula also reflected on her mom, Kim Pegula, and her recovery from a 2022 health emergency.
Kim previously served as president and CEO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment and was the first female team president in NFL history. "That was really tough," Pegula said of her mother's health trauma. "She went into cardiac arrest, and that was a lot to deal with.
But I think for the most part, we're on the other end of it now." In 2023, Kim was legally declared incapacitated after her cardiac arrest resulted in a brain injury affecting her motor skills, language and memory. "But now I think she's able to travel, she's able to experience things with us," Pegula said, "and I think at the end of the day, that's the most important and the part that we cherish the most, being able to spend time with her and her being able to enjoy things with us again." Pegula said tennis provided a therapeutic outlet during the most stressful times. "She'd want me to be out there playing tournaments and competing," Pegula said about her mother. "So I think, ultimately, tennis really helped me get through that." Pegula said she believes her dad wants her family to keep running the teams. "I think my dad, I'm sure, would love to keep it in the family," Pegula said.
But she added that she doesn't know what the future holds. "I think we learned that after what happened with my mom, that you never know what's going to happen," she said