Will the Commanders’ owner Dan Snyder actually sell?
The very controversial owner has been in the headline for a few year now since his stance on keeping the Washington football teams name the “Redskins.” A racial slur that had the Native-American community angry at the name.
Since that situation as been resolved, the now Commanders owner has found himself back in the news. In 2021, an investigation into Dan Snyders emails cost Las Vegas Raiders head coach John Gruden his job. The investigation started over sexual harassment claims. Ultimately, what was found in the emails were racial comments made by Gruden.
Although Snyder has stated he is committed to the team, the fans, and employees, the Snyders still retained Bank of America to help sell the franchise. The expected number for this sell could top $5 to $6 billion.
The news comes just after Snyder threatened the NFL about having “Dirt” on the other owners. It was proclaimed that Snyder had hired a private investigator to look into the other owners. Whatever he found could crush the NFL if it was to ever get out.
However, the sell of the Washington Commanders would be big for the NFL. Not only will the Snyder issue go away, but the league would bring in a very powerful owner in the state capitol.
Potential Owners
Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO of Amazon
The wealthiest man in the world would be a very tough buyer to pass up. Bezos’ net worth is in the tops over $100 Billion. He has built the ultimate supply chain machine that has changed the landscape of shipping forever.
Furthermore, Bezos has expressed his interest in owning an NFL team before. Hence, bidding for the Washington Commanders would be a great buy in many ways. Bezos would be in the state capitol next to the biggest politicians in the world. If he needs to get anything done outside of football, it wouldn’t be too difficult to talk to someone in Washington.
Currently, Amazon Prime Video is airing all of the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games on their platform. The addition of the NFL games has increased membership for Prime Video in a big way.
Consequently, Bezos has the interest of the NFL and would be a knockout addition to the NFL ownership group.
Elon Musk, Founder & CEO of Tesla & Space X
The second wealthiest man in the world might also be interested in buying the Commanders. Although Musk recently purchased the social media platform Twitter. The purchase was close to $44 billion.
An NFL team wouldn’t be nearly as costly, but another big purchase might not be in the works anytime soon. However, the states capitol could be a very big attraction to this modern day business titan.
Robert F. Smith, Founder & CEO of Vista Equity Partners
The last time Smith name was mentioned for an NFL team was this past spring. Smith was in a bidding war to own the Denver Broncos. Ultimately, Smith lost to Walmart heir Rob Walton.
Smith would be a great addition to the ownership group of the NFL. There’s currently no African American majority owner in the league. A league where 57% of its players are African-American. Furthermore, Smith has a reported net worth $8 billion.
Like Bezos and Musk, Smith might be interested in buying the Commanders for the location. Owning a franchise in the state capitol gets you closer to some very powerful people.
Either way, whoever buys the Commanders once they’re up for sale will be in a great position to help the league grow on and off the field.