The Buffalo Bills announced Thursday that players will wear a commemorative patch on their jerseys honoring the team's late owner, Ralph C. Wilson Jr.

The Bills will honor late owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. with a patch on their jerseys. Courtesy of Buffalo Bills

The patch, which will be worn on the upper-left shoulder on the Bills' jerseys throughout the 2014 season, features Wilson's initials, "RCW," in red lettering.

"Ralph would be humbled to see such a tribute in his honor, worn proudly by a team that meant so much to him," Wilson's wife, Mary, said in a statement released by the team. "The patch is a fitting acknowledgement of his commitment to the players, the team, and the Western New York area, and our family is touched by the outpouring of support and remembrance."

Wilson, who formed the Buffalo Bills in 1959, paying $25,000 at the time to be one of the original owners in the American Football League, died in March at age 95.

Since Wilson's family is unlikely to keep the team, the search is on to find its next owner and keep the franchise in Buffalo.

New York City developer Howard Milstein, real estate magnate Donald Trump and Tom Golisano, the former owner of the Buffalo Sabres, have been mentioned as potential owners. On Tuesday, the state of New York hired AECOM, a California-based architectural and design firm, to identify sites for a new stadium in order to assure that the Bills stay in the region.

Ralph Wilson Stadium, which opened in 1973, is undergoing $130 million in renovations to upgrade the structure and add new amenities.