Amassing his fortune via investments in fracking,[2] Pegula has interests in natural gas development, real estate, entertainment, and professional sports.

From there he attended college at Penn State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering.

It profited heavily upon discovery of deep layers of natural gas in the Marcellus Formation and application of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") recovery process.

[5] Pegula eventually sold the Pennsylvania, New York, and Rocky Mountain assets of the company to Royal Dutch Shell for approximately $4.7 billion.

[7] Pegula also owns Greater Rocky Mountain Regional Oil & Gas in Colorado and Wyoming, and JKLM Energy in Pennsylvania.

[9] Pegula's purchase made an immediate positive impact, with players,[10] fans and alumni[11] invigorated by his investment in the team, the then First Niagara Center and the building of Harborcenter across the street.

Pegula was quoted as saying, "Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence, will be to win a Stanley Cup.

Many fans and critics alike have attributed the team's firing of six head coaches and three general managers since 2013 to this, as well as other controversial moves such as the trades of Ryan O'Reilly and Jack Eichel.

[16] As part of the deal the Americans had to be split off from its NLL counterpart the Rochester Knighthawks since Pegula owned the Bandits due to ownership rules at the time.

He competed against future U.S. President Donald Trump and musician Jon Bon Jovi, the latter of whom was backed by principals of the Toronto-based Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, for purchase of the team.

Pegula's first major order of business was to end the Bills Toronto Series, which he did in an agreement reached on December 3, 2014.

[22][23] Upon the purchase of the Bills, Pegula and his wife Kim introduced One Buffalo, a marketing campaign which has since evolved into a brand used across all of their sports teams and associated products.

In 2018, Pegula reached an agreement to purchase the intellectual property of the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League in autumn 2019.

Curt Styres orchestrated the sale as he planned on moving his staff and roster to a new Halifax NLL team set to debut in the winter of 2020.

Through a partnership with Southern Tier Brewing Company, Pegula launched a "One Buffalo" branded craft beer that sells at all Pegula-owned properties and elsewhere in the region.

[32] In July 2022, Pegula established Bison Wealth, a back-office consulting service based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Because six Big Ten universities now had Division I men's hockey programs (the minimum number of teams required under Big Ten bylaws for official conference sponsorship, and also the minimum required for a conference to be an automatic postseason qualifier), it was announced that Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State would join Penn State in the Big Ten hockey conference starting in the 2013–2014 season.

[39] He currently lives in Boca Raton, Florida, along with his second wife, Kim Pegula (formerly Kerr),[40] who grew up in Fairport, New York, and is a graduate of Houghton College.