Billy Sullivan ( American football ) William Hallissey " Billy " Sullivan , Jr . ( September 13 , 1915 – February 23 , 1998 ) was an American businessman who owned the Boston Patriots franchise from their inception in the American Football League ( AFL , 1960 – 1969 ) until their sale , as the New England Patriots of the NFL , to Victor Kiam in 1988 . Early life . Sullivan was born in Lowell , Massachusetts in 1915 and graduated from Boston College in 1937 . The son of a Boston Globe correspondent , Sullivan himself became a sportswriter after college . He also served as a publicity director for Boston College , the University of Notre Dame , and the Boston Braves , putting out so many press releases that fellow sportwriter Red Smith dubbed Sullivan the " Maître de Mimeograph . " Sullivan also served in the United States Navy during this time . NFL career . NFL franchise attempt . In 1959 , Sullivan , by then involved in business ventures , requested a National Football League franchise in Boston . With Boston ' s five previous football franchises having folded or moved , the NFL later denied Sullivan ' s request . AFL franchise . Having not succeeded in starting an NFL franchise , Sullivan then turned to the new American Football League in 1959 . For $ 25 , 000 , he was awarded the league ' s eighth and final team for their inaugural 1960 season , the Boston Patriots . Sullivan gave his son Patrick Sullivan the title of General Manager for the team and another son Chuck Sullivan the title of Executive Vice President . In 1964 , Sullivan helped the AFL negotiate a 5 - year , $ 30 million television agreement with broadcaster NBC . AFL - NFL merger . In 1970 , Sullivan played a part in the AFL - NFL merger by successfully requesting an antitrust exemption from the United States Congress . New England Patriots . For the 1971 season , the Patriots ' second in the post - merger NFL , Sullivan changed the team ' s name from the Boston Patriots to the New England Patriots to correspond with the team ' s move into Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough , Massachusetts , and to embrace all of New England , as the Giants were soon to play two seasons in New Haven , Connecticut . He was named majority owner of the team in 1975 . By 1988 , the Patriots had played 28 full seasons , 14 of them with winning records , and had appeared in 1 AFL Championship game and 1 Super Bowl . In an attempt to avoid bankruptcy , Sullivan asked the NFL if he could sell 50 % of the team in a public offering . The NFL refused the request , and Sullivan sold the team to Victor Kiam for $ 83 million the same year , with Sullivan remaining as the team ' s president until 1992 . However , the stadium lease entered into bankruptcy and was purchased by Robert Kraft , who owned an option on adjacent land and would eventually own the Patriots . In 1991 , Sullivan filed a $ 116 million antitrust lawsuit against the NFL and accepted an $ 11 . 5 million settlement of the case in 1996 . Class action lawsuit . After being ousted as President of the Patriots in 1974 ( despite owning more than 20 % of the voting stock ) , Sullivan sought to regain control over operations . By 1975 , Sullivan had repurchased 100 % of the voting stock . Once in control of the corporation , Sullivan removed all directors of whom he disapproved . Notably , however , in order to pay back the loans required to purchase the voting - stock ( more than 5 . 3M ) , Sullivan agreed with lenders to assign income of the corporation and assets of the corporation over to the banks . In order to do this , however , Sullivan needed to eliminate the non - voting public shareholders . Sullivan was successful in structuring a deal that provided the non - voting public shareholders $ 15 / share ; this transaction was approved by the shareholder class . A dissenting shareholder ( a long time Patriots fan ) refused to tender his shares and filed suit . Eventually , the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found the merger / elimination of the minority shareholders as illegal and effected for Sullivan ' s personal benefit . Additionally , the Court found that Sullivan ' s actions constituted a waste of corporate assets . It was ordered that the shareholders be paid the value of the shares , not in 1975 dollars but as the value would have stood in 1986 ( the time of the ruling ) . Death . After an 8 - year battle with prostate cancer , Sullivan died in his Atlantis , Florida retirement home in 1998 .