NFL NOTES : Group Wants to Buy Falcons, but Owner Is Not Interested

A broker hired to sell minority stock in the Atlanta Falcons said a group of potential buyers will make an offer for the NFL club this week, even though owner Rankin Smith insists the team is not for sale.

Jack Veatch, managing director of the Salomon Brothers brokerage house, told The Atlanta Constitution that the offer is expected from one of two Atlanta-area groups that have discussed the purchase of the club.

“We anticipate a firm offer, probably this week,” he said in a weekend telephone interview.

“Of course, Mr. Smith’s stance has always been that the whole team is not for sale; he’s never indicated anything contrary to that. He’s even said that he doesn’t care to see any such offers. But if a group makes one, he’d have to see it,” Veatch said.

“I’ll make this clear,” Smith said Sunday in Pontiac, Mich., where the Falcons lost to the Detroit Lions. “The team is not for sale; it never has been. That’s all I want to say. Period. Paragraph. End of story.”

Veatch was hired in April to sell the minority stock holdings--30% of the club’s non-voting stock--belonging to three of Smith’s children.

The price tag is about $35 million, placing the value of the entire team at $120 million to $125 million. Smith purchased the club as an NFL expansion franchise in 1965 for $8.5 million.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Albert Lewis, who ended his holdout last week, will be activated for today night’s game against the Denver Broncos.

Lewis, a three-time All Pro, will not start the game but will play, Coach Marty Schottenheimer said.

The Chiefs also announced that running back Kenny Gamble had been placed on injured reserve. The club said he will miss at least four games with a knee injury.