Jeff Bezos eyed the Washington Commanders for years with the hope of becoming one of the richest NFL owners ever. As the billionaire now awaits a sale of the Commanders, without being involved in the bidding war, he could now be eyeing the next NFL team to pursue.
Bezos, the founder of Amazon and current owner of The Washington Post, originally wanted to buy Washington’s NFL franchise. However, WaPo’s reporting on Commanders’ owner Daniel Snyder and allegations of sexual misconduct likely took Bezos out of the running.
- Jeff Bezos net worth (Bloomberg): $122 billion
Snyder accused The Washington Post of assailing his character in 2022. Many first believed the possibility of the Commanders being sold was a ploy by Snyder to get back at Bezos. While the NFL owner was unhappy with offers submitted by outside groups, he reportedly never wanted to sell the franchise to Bezos.
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With the path now cleared for the group led by Josh Harris and Magic Johnson to buy the Commanders, Bezos could reportedly have his eye on a different NFL franchise.
An unidentified NFL source told Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post that Bezos “nows Seattle is sitting there.” While a sale of the Seattle Seahawks franchise isn’t imminent, it is viewed as the team lost likely to be sold after the Commanders are purchased.
Related: NFL insider hints at potential cost, timeline for Seattle Seahawks sale
Once owned by billionaire Paul Allen, both the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks are now controlled by THe Paul Allen Trust. After Paul Allen passed away in 2018 from cancer, his sister Jody Allen took over as chairman.
Portland’s John Canzano reported in May 2022 that the trust requests all of his assets to be sold off with the money all going towards his “passion projects”, funding a variety of causes including cancer research.
Shortly after Canzano’s reporting, The Seattle Times disclosed that neither the Seahawks nor Trail Blazers would be put up for sale anytime soon. Jody Allen wants to remain in control of both franchises for the time being, with 2024 viewed as the earliest possibility for the Trail Blazers entertaining offers.
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Given the Commanders’ sale price is expected to be around $6 billion, there is plenty of incentive for the Paul Allen Trust to hold off on putting Seattle’s NFL team up for bids. NFL revenue is climbing each year and with broadcasting partners spending billions of dollars on broadcasting rights and the possibility of expansion – internationally or with the regular season – franchise values and league revenue are expected to climb in the years to come.
As one of the richest people in the World, Bezos can afford to be patient and wait until the Seahawks or another prominent NFL franchise is put up for sale. Given the NFL prioritizes offers with high liquidity, wanting as much cash as possible immediately, Bezos will be the favorite to win any bidding war for an NFL team that interests him.