Pessimism drapes the Toronto group bidding on the Buffalo Bills, QMI Agency has learned.

Since discovering late last week where their first bid stands against that of multi-billionaire Terry Pegula's, parties within the Toronto group realize their chances of winning are "slim," a source said.

The group comprises rocker Jon Bon Jovi, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum and the Rogers family (whose trust runs Rogers Communications Inc.).

Their desperate predicament might explain why Bon Jovi released an open letter on the weekend to Bills fans via the Buffalo News, trying (poorly) to convince people on that side of the Niagara River that the group is sincere in its newfound intention to keep the team over there.

The belief inside the Toronto group, and by many in the financial community, is that Pegula -- the cash-flush multi-billionaire who owns the NHL's Buffalo Sabres -- is probably uncatchable by the Toronto trio. If not by all other bidders.

The source said Pegula submitted a daunting (albeit non-binding) first bid last Tuesday, perhaps as much as $400 million more than the Toronto group's. If true, that's a massive difference.

A different source on Thursday told QMI Agency the Toronto group's first bid was surprisingly low -- appreciably below $1 billion.

All this jibes with what QMI Agency reported Wednesday: that the Toronto group cannot ultimately bid as high as the $1.3 billion Pegula is reported to have submitted in Tuesday's first round.

The Toronto group's bid ceiling is about $1.2 billion, one source said Wednesday, and another source said it's likely lower than that, at just above $1 billion -- at least with Bon Jovi as lead partner.

The rocker by far is the least wealthiest and cash-flush of the Toronto trio. Sources continue to underscore, though, that the unshakeable plan for this group is for Bon Jovi to assume the controlling, minimum-30% share, even though Tanenbaum and the Rogers family combined are worth about $9.5 billion.

In the NFL, only controlling owners have any clout, attend league meetings or enjoy the limelight.

Pegula is believed to be bidding without background investors. He is a cash-flush oil-and-gas multi-billionaire who has been helping to spearhead downtown Buffalo redevelopment efforts.

He and wife Kim -- while never publicly confirming they either would or have bid on the Bills -- are seen as the likeliest new owners who would possess both the wherewithal and desire to keep the 55-year-old franchise in the Buffalo area for the next generation and beyond.

The Buffalo News reported in June that Pegula sold oil and gas lands in Ohio and West Virginia for $1.75-billion. Sources say his cash reserves run considerably deeper.

Only $200 million of an NFL club purchase can be financed, meaning the rest must be paid in cash.

Trump also is bidding alone. His right-hand man told QMI Agency on Thursday that Trump would pay for the team in cash, without financing.

The Bills are for sale because founding owner Ralph Wilson died in March. His trust is overseeing the sale, while investment banker Morgan Stanley is conducting the sale with the aid of law firm Proskaeur & Rose.

Prospective purchasers had until last Tuesday to submit a non-binding, first (or "indicative") bid, although WGRZ-TV in Buffalo reported Thursday that the deadline has been extended for an undisclosed period of time.

With the trust and Morgan Stanley weeks ago having set aside this week and next to hold next-stage meetings with finalist bidders, it seemed not only logical but necessary for chosen finalists to be informed of such good news before the weekend.

On Thursday night, reports out of Buffalo said that Pegula and celebrity multi-billionaire Donald Trump had been selected as finalists.

QMI Agency reported Thursday night that mystery surrounded the status of the Toronto trio. Had their group too been chosen too as a finalist? Was a decision still pending? Or were they out?

The only clarity to emerge since then is the group apparently has not been told it is out. But sources cannot confirm the group has been chosen as a finalist, either.

The New York Post reported Saturday that former Sabres owner Tom Golisano, a payroll-systems multi-billionaire originally from Rochster, N.Y., is poised finally to submit a bid.

BON JOVI PENS LETTER

His name and reputation utterly trashed in Western New York since the spring, Jon Bon Jovi penned a letter to Buffalo Bills fans on the weekend.

Posted at the Buffalo News' website early Sunday morning, the 340-word letter attempts to convince Bills fans that his bid group's recent about-face is sincere.

But nowhere did he vow to keep the team long-term in Buffalo.

There has been "a lot of conjecture, so we think it's important to clarify our intentions to the fans of the team and people of Buffalo," Bon Jovi wrote.

"Our objective is simple: to carry on the legacy of Ralph Wilson and make the Bills successful in Buffalo.

"We are committed to working with the state, city, county and business community to identify the best possible site in the Buffalo area for a new stadium and to then develop and implement a plan to finance and build a state-of-the-art NFL stadium for the loyal Bills fans."

Twitter and Bills fan message boards instantly erupted with derision, disbelief and profanity. Nowhere in that letter, fans correctly pointed out, did Bon Jovi promise to keep the Bills in Buffalo long-term.

The hundreds of Buffalo-area bars and businesses that now profess to be "Bon Jovi Free Zones" aren't likely to believe him either.

Bon Jovi's background investors are Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum and the Rogers family that runs Canada's largest telecom empire, both of Toronto.

QMI Agency has reported that until some point in June, the group's plan had been to relocate the Bills to Toronto at first opportunity