By all appearances, the Washington Commanders are set to be sold to the Josh Harris group for an amount somewhere near $6.05 billion. Yet, there’s also been some recent speculation surrounding a phantom $7 billion bid coming from another D.C. area businessman.
This latest bid reportedly comes from Brian Davis, who is a late contender in the Commanders bidding process. But that’s if he’s even a true contender at all.
The initial report suggested Davis could provide $1 billion to current Commanders owner Daniel Snyder within 24 hours and the rest of the $6 billion within a week. Yet, the process isn’t that simple.
Obviously, the NFL’s owners would have to approve the sale first, and now questions are mounting about where Davis is sourcing all this cash.
Davis is a former Duke basketball player who also played one NBA season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He built some of his wealth by founding Urban Echo Energy LLC, a company that develops renewable energy assets.
It’s worth noting that Davis has yet to disclose who is backing his bid or who’s helping him come up with so much moola. Davis reportedly has a net worth, so coming up with the 30% (2.1 billion) necessary to be recognized as a majority owner, shouldn’t theoretically be an issue.
But as A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports notes, the latest indications suggest the source of Davis’ funds comes from the Middle East, specifically, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
One source suggests the offer has been “vetted,” but others aren’t so sure. One link even remarked, “It must be a typo. They probably meant $7000.”
Meanwhile, others suggest if the $7 billion offer is legitimate, Snyder won’t hesitate to accept the bid, which comes in nearly $1 billion north of the Harris group. Bank of America is currently reviewing Davis’ offer.
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