Kim Pegula: Jessica Pegula’s Mother Who Became the First Woman to Lead an NFL and NHL Team
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Jessica Pegula is trending in the United Kingdom today, Friday 13 November 2026, after a dramatic win at the WTA Finals. The 32-year-old world No. 5 saved a match point to beat Linda Noskova 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5 in Indian Wells on Thursday, firing a career-high 16 aces across two hours and 45 minutes to reach the semi-finals and knock Coco Gauff out of the tournament. Behind one of tennis’s most famous daughters stands her mother, Kim Pegula, a woman whose own story runs from a Seoul orphanage to the top of American professional sport.
Kim Pegula is the co-owner of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, and the former president and chief executive of Pegula Sports and Entertainment. She became the first woman to serve as team president in both the NFL and the NHL. Her journey to that position, and the health crisis that later took her away from it, is one of the most remarkable in modern sport.
Kim Pegula — Quick Reference Profile
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kim S. Pegula (née Kerr) |
| Date of birth | 7 June 1969 |
| Age | 57 (as of November 2026) |
| Birthplace | Seoul, South Korea |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Houghton College |
| Spouse | Terry Pegula (married 1993) |
| Children | Kelly, Matthew and Jessica Pegula; two stepchildren, Michael and Laura |
| Known for | Co-owner of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres; former president and CEO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment |
| Net worth | Not publicly verified |
| Height | Not publicly verified |
| Social media | Not publicly verified |
From Seoul to Fairport: The Adoption That Shaped Kim Pegula
Kim Pegula was born Kim S. Kerr on 7 June 1969 in Seoul, South Korea. She has said she has no recollection of her birth name or her biological parents, and only her date of birth is documented from her early life. A DNA test later suggested that one of her parents was likely Japanese.
She was brought to the United States and adopted by Ralph and Marilyn Kerr on 30 December 1974, when she was five years old. She grew up with her adopted family in Fairport, New York, a suburb of Rochester. At school she took part in cheerleading and played bassoon in the school band.
After enrolling at Houghton College, following her brothers, she and a roommate planned to travel to Alaska to work near a fishing camp. Unable to afford the fare, she applied for a waitressing job at the Old Library Restaurant in Olean, New York. That application changed her life.
A Waitressing Job in Olean and the Start of a Sports Empire
It was at the Old Library Restaurant that Kim met Terry Pegula, who was dining there. In 1991 he offered her a job at his natural gas company, East Resources. The two entered a relationship and married in 1993.
Kim worked at East Resources from 1991 until the company was sold in 2010. The sale gave the couple the fortune that would bankroll their move into professional sport. They bought the Buffalo Sabres in 2011 for $189 million, along with the Rochester Americans and the Buffalo Bandits. Then, after longtime Bills owner Ralph Wilson died in 2014, they won the bidding for the Buffalo Bills with an NFL-record $1.4 billion all-cash offer, beating rival bids that included Donald Trump and a group led by Jon Bon Jovi.
One Buffalo: How Kim Pegula Made NFL and NHL History
After buying the Bills, Kim and Terry Pegula reorganised their teams, the record label Black River Entertainment and other holdings into Pegula Sports and Entertainment. Kim helped coin the phrase “One Buffalo”, which became the rallying cry for the city’s sports fans. She also influenced the planning and construction of LECOM Harborcenter, the mixed-use development beside the Sabres’ arena in downtown Buffalo.
In March 2018 she was named to the NFL’s business ventures committee. Then, on 1 May 2018, after Russ Brandon resigned, she was installed as president of all Pegula Sports and Entertainment properties. She became the first female team president in the history of both the NFL and the NHL. She also sat on the board of the NFL Foundation and the league’s workplace diversity committee, and the Pegulas donated $12 million to Houghton College, her alma mater.
Her rise made her one of a small group of female NFL owners, alongside figures such as Sheila Ford Hamp of the Detroit Lions and Gayle Benson of the New Orleans Saints. Like Dany Garcia, who built a business empire alongside Dwayne Johnson, Kim Pegula built her sporting empire as a full partner rather than a bystander.
The Night in June 2022 That Changed Everything
In June 2022, shortly after her 53rd birthday, Kim Pegula went into cardiac arrest while asleep at the family home in Boca Raton, Florida. Her husband Terry woke to find her unresponsive, and her daughter Kelly gave her CPR until paramedics arrived and restored her heartbeat. She was taken to intensive care, and for eight months the family said only that she was dealing with unexpected health issues.
On 7 February 2023, Jessica Pegula explained what had happened in an essay for The Players’ Tribune. Her mother had suffered cardiac arrest that progressed into a brain injury, leaving her with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues. ESPN reported the same account, noting that Jessica credited her sister Kelly with saving their mother’s life. The family has kept the details of her recovery private since then.
On 23 March 2023, Kim Pegula was legally declared incapacitated, and her assets were placed into a trust managed by Terry Pegula and his longtime business partner Bob Long. Pegula Sports and Entertainment was dissolved in 2023, and Terry took up the president’s role with the Bills and Sabres. Her stepdaughter Laura Pegula assumed Kim’s role as Bills co-owner in early 2024.
Recovery has been slow but visible. In late July 2023 she attended a Buffalo Bills training camp practice, her first public appearance in 14 months. A year later, in July 2024, she walked out to the practice field with her husband’s help and broke down the team huddle. The Bills and Sabres still list her as co-owner, with the Bills’ website noting that she is undergoing long-term physical and occupational therapy.
Kim Pegula’s Fortune, the Bills and What She Owns Today
The Pegula fortune was built on Terry Pegula’s East Resources natural gas business, sold in 2010, and then turned into a sports portfolio. The headline purchases were the Sabres for $189 million in 2011 and the Bills for $1.4 billion in 2014. The family also owns the Buffalo Bandits and the Rochester Americans, and has invested heavily in downtown Buffalo property.
Kim Pegula’s personal net worth is not publicly verified, and no reliable source separates her individual wealth from the family fortune. Reports that put a single figure on her name should be treated with caution. What is documented is the scale of the empire she helped build and the two flagship franchises she still co-owns.
Her daughter Jessica’s tennis career has kept the family name in the headlines. Jessica, who turned professional as a teenager and now sits in the world’s top five, has spoken openly about her mother’s illness and her recovery. Like Bernard Tomic’s father John Tomic, who coached his son on tour, the Pegula parents have been a constant presence behind their daughter’s career, even as Kim’s health has kept her away from the spotlight.
Kim Pegula: Questions People Keep Asking
Who is Kim Pegula?
Kim Pegula is the mother of tennis star Jessica Pegula and the co-owner of the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. She was formerly president and chief executive of Pegula Sports and Entertainment, and the first woman to lead a team in both the NFL and the NHL.
How old is Kim Pegula?
Kim Pegula was born on 7 June 1969 in Seoul, South Korea, which makes her 57 years old as of November 2026.
What happened to Kim Pegula in 2022?
Kim Pegula suffered a cardiac arrest in her sleep in June 2022, on her 53rd birthday. Her daughter Kelly performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The cardiac arrest caused a brain injury that left her with significant expressive aphasia and memory issues, and she has been recovering ever since.
What is Kim Pegula’s net worth?
Her personal net worth is not publicly verified. The family fortune comes from Terry Pegula’s East Resources natural gas business and the Bills and Sabres franchises, including the $1.4 billion purchase of the Bills in 2014.
Is Kim Pegula still involved with the Buffalo Bills?
She is still listed as a co-owner of the Bills and Sabres, but she no longer runs the teams day to day. Terry Pegula took over the president’s role after Pegula Sports and Entertainment was dissolved in 2023, and her stepdaughter Laura Pegula assumed her co-owner role in early 2024.
Myth-busting: Kim Pegula was not born in the United States. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, and adopted at the age of five. Her 2022 hospital stay was also not a stroke, as some reports suggested. Her daughter Jessica said it was a cardiac arrest that led to a brain injury. And while she remains a co-owner, she does not run the Bills day to day. That role passed to her husband Terry after the family holding company was dissolved in 2023.
