Here's how it happened:
* The Buffalo Bisons: The city of Buffalo had a team in the International League called the Bisons. This team was popular, and when the AAFC was forming, they wanted a team in Buffalo.
* The Name Choice: The AAFC organizers decided to name the new team after the Bisons, but they wanted a name with a similar "tough" image. They settled on "Bills," which was a slang term for "dollars" and was associated with the financial success of Buffalo's booming economy at the time.
* The Legacy: When the AAFC folded, the Buffalo Bills name was revived by the city's new American Football League (AFL) team in 1960. The current Buffalo Bills franchise is a continuation of that team, making the name a long-standing tradition in the city.
So, the Buffalo Bills got their name from a play on the word "Bisons," with a touch of Buffalo's economic history.