The expected sale of the Washington Commanders franchise is supposed to be one of the biggest storylines of the 2023 NFL offseason and a potential turning point for the club. Now, there is reportedly a possibility that a deal doesn’t come to fruition and Daniel Snyder remains the owner.
Snyder announced in November that he hired Bank of America Securities to evaluate potential transactions of the club. At the time, there remained uncertainty regarding whether he would sell the franchise outright, put a minority stake up for bid, or was just testing the market.
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However, reports in the following months indicated an ownership change was likely. Even amid Snyder’s reported motivation to flush out Jeff Bezos and prevent his adversary from buying the club, the number of buyers indicated that a sale would happen.
The Commanders’ owner set a massive price tag on the franchise. Less than a year after the Denver Broncos sold for an American sports record ($4.65 billion), early estimates had the sale of Washington’s NFL franchise going for at least $7 billion.
While Bezos continued to make efforts to buy the NFL franchise, seemingly re-emerging as the favorite to win the bidding war, it seems the final bids submitted could change the outcome considerably.
According to Josh Kosman of the New York Post, bids for the Commanders have come in around $5.5 billion in advance of the deadline for offers. It’s well short of the $7 billion asking price Snyder hoped would be met by multiple parties.
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An unidentified party offered Snyder $5.5 billion for outright ownership of the commanders, per Kosman, a figure that is similar to what billionaire Josh Harris proposed to Snyder. More importantly, per the NY Post, Bezos was reportedly prevented from participating in the auction.
“He’s an ass and he may not want to give it up.”
NFL source on Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder (via NY Post)
Snyder is expected to make a final decision around the annual NFL owners’ meeting in late March, but there is a growing belief he will keep the franchise. While he faced pressure from fellow franchise owners to go through with a sale, the reported offers below $6 billion could offer him cover among his peers.
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Bezos remains interested in buying the Commanders, the NFL franchise he has coveted for years. While he is seemingly being kept out of the process by Snyder, the Amazon founder has taken all the necessary steps to show the NFL he made a serious effort. If he doesn’t land the Commanders, another NFL team might already be on his radar.