Donald Trump has supported New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady since the NFL punished him with a four-game suspension and fined the organization $1 million for their alleged role in Deflategate. But the hotel billionaire almost was the man paying off the fine.
Former Patriots owner Billy Sullivan reportedly approached Trump about purchasing the team in 1988, per Boston.com writer Steven Levenson. With the team being $104 million in debt, Trump passed on the offer, as sources said the debt would be “too much for him to handle.”
Sullivan instead sold the Pats to entrepreneur Viktor Kiam for $84 million.