Jessica Pegula says her life in sports may not end when her tennis career does.
In a recent interview with CNBC Sport, the world’s third-ranked women’s tennis player said she has long imagined staying in the sporting world after tennis. “I always thought that I wanted to be in the sporting world when I was done with tennis,” Jessica Pegula told CNBC Sport.
For Pegula, that future could include the Buffalo Bills, the NFL team owned by her parents, Terry and Kim Pegula. Her mother and father also own the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres and National Lacrosse League’s Buffalo Bandits.
This is not the first time Pegula has pointed to a possible role with the Bills and Sabres. In February 2024, as part of a column published by The Players’ Tribune that revealed her path into cardiac arrest in June 2022, Jessica wrote, “My mom always wanted me to be involved. She wanted me to learn and eventually do what she was doing.”
That possibility became more real after her father’s cardiac arrest, which kept him from returning to his role as president of both teams. Laura Pegula, Jessica’s daughter from her first marriage, became more involved with the Bills and Sabres. Jessica’s husband, Taylor Gahagen, who was named to the now-defunct Pegula Sports and Entertainment’s director of corporate development in 2024, was let go that year.
Now, Laura attends NFL and NHL league meetings, including a role as one of the Sabres’ two alternate governors, and regularly appears at events for both teams. Jessica’s younger brother, Matthew, has frequented games and practices for both teams since the Pegula family purchased the Sabres and Bills in 2011 and 2014, respectively.
Jessica is no stranger to the biggest stages in tennis. According to the Women’s Tennis Association, she is the third-ranked singles player in the world.
As a doubles player, she has been ranked as high as first. She has won 11 singles titles and seven doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
At 31, she remains near the top of her game. In January, she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open.
She got to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open semifinals on Sept.
And she made clear that what happens after tennis is still on her mind. “I think we learned that after what happened with my mom, that you never know,” Pegula also told CNBC Sport.
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