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Another member of the Fina family will be donning a Bills uniform just over 25 years after John Fina played his final game in Buffalo.

Fina, a former Arizona Wildcat and Salpointe Catholic graduate, starred in Buffalo from 1992-2001 and started in two Super Bowls — both resulting in losses to the Dallas Cowboys.  

Bruno Fina, John's son, signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent and is set to participate in rookie mini-camp this upcoming week. 

"It's an amazing opportunity," Bruno Fina said, "to carry on a legacy and be at a place that my dad did great things at and a place that he loves so much. The other thing that comes with my dad having been there is that he has so many friends and family around Buffalo, so being around them is awesome. It's a motivator to make the team and make that impact." 

The older Fina reflects on his decade in Buffalo "with great gratitude."

"I got to do something that so few people get to do," Fina added. "I got to do it in a city that loves its team. The support from family and friends made it more incredible."

Bruno Fina is one of four children — two boys and two girls — and the story behind his name is, well, "we thought it sounded original and it didn't sound like we were trying too hard," said John Fina, who said him and his wife, Melissa, "quickly settled on Bruno." 

"It's a beautiful name," John Fina added. "As a parent and observer of life, children become their names. He's really proud of that name and says it loud and proud. ... My parents loved it because it sounded Italian. My in-laws were kind of skeptical because it sounded like an Italian knuckle-breaker from the Buffalo mafia. It turned out to be a good name for the kid. ... He's a great kid. He lives up to the name." 

Bruno Fina, who also graduated from Salpointe Catholic, didn't follow his father's footsteps to the UA. Instead, the offensive lineman — who was teammates with Bijan Robinson and Lathan Ransom at Salpointe Catholic — started his collegiate journey at UCLA and majored in business entrepreneurship. 

After emerging as the Bruins' starting left tackle, Fina transferred to Duke for his final two seasons of eligibility and played for head coach Manny Diaz and offensive line coach Jeff Norrid.

Fina, a two-year starter for the Blue Devils, ended his Duke career with a win over Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso. Fina received a master’s degree in management studies from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. Last season, he was teammates with Roman Fina, who was a freshman offensive tackle for the Blue Devils. 

"I feel proud that I spent four full years at UCLA," Bruno Fina said. "I didn't cut that short and I got my degree from there. Sometimes there's a turning point, and there's a better place for you.

"Duke was a much better fit for where I was at in my career. The transition was very smooth and the coaching staff was fantastic and the people I met there was awesome. I also got the chance to play with my younger brother for a year, which is something not a lot of people get to say. It was a great transition." 

Fina was hopeful to get drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, but as the final round started to come to a close on Sunday, four teams expressed interest in Fina, "and it just so happened that Buffalo was the best situation out of any of those. Aside from being my dad's team, it's spooky that it ended up being the one. It's a 1/32 chance and that ended up being the one," he said.  

John Fina said Bruno Fina deciding between the teams "was the most stressful, exhilarating, eye-opening wild thing I've been a part of in a long time." Moments went by, and Bruno Fina was Buffalo-bound.  

"To be fair, Bruno is not a Buffalo Bill yet," John Fina said. "He's got the opportunity to work his butt off and achieve and earn that title. There's so much that has to happen between now and that final cut-down date."

Bruno Fina has attended multiple Bills games in Buffalo growing up, including the 2025 AFC Divisional Round against the Baltimore Ravens. 

"Walking around the tailgate, people recognized him left and right," Bruno Fina said of his father. 

The tailgating scene in Buffalo and "Bills Mafia" — a fanbase notorious for jumping through foldable tables — "is just something to behold," John Fina said. 

Buffalo has city life, "but it's also close to nature, too, so you have a lot of trails to go hiking on, places to go camping," Bruno Fina said. "There's a lot of natural beauty that you don't get in a place like New York City."

Oh, and it's the motherland for buffalo wings.  

"They're the best," Fina said. "Seriously, they're way better."

John Fina's biggest piece of advice to Bruno Fina, as the younger Fina kickstarts his NFL journey: "Every day, pick something you gotta get better at, whether it's incremental or large gain."

"Early in those meetings, don't ask questions, because you're just going to extend those meetings for the veterans and they get pissed," Fina joked. "I made that mistake my rookie year. I asked a question at the end of the meeting and it lasted 20 minutes longer, then I had to buy beers for a solid week.

"This is a microcosm of life. Every day, you gotta prove yourself. Every day, you gotta think there's someone nipping at your heels to take your job. Every day, aspire to be the guy who's in front of you. He has that mindset and dedication, he loves the game of football and he loves to be on a team." 

Bruno Fina making the Bills' 53-man active roster this season remains to be seen, but for the moment, the focus is "just doing the little things right."

"When you're in college, you have someone always looking over your shoulder all the time to make sure you do the little things right and you're acting a certain way, but when you get to the NFL, that's one of the places you can stand out," Fina said. "Do you come in extra? Do you get to meetings early? Do you write everything down? Do you always know the playbook?

"Guys like that have a much better chance of sticking around than guys who don't. Doing all of the small things the right way and just working harder than everyone in the building is going to be my goal."