Bank of America, the company that handled the recent sale process for the Washington Commanders is being sued by one of the interested parties over claims that the team was never allowed to consider their record-breaking offer.
After months of speculation and even rumors of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos jumping into the bidding for the Washington Commanders, earlier this month the NFL franchise finally accepted the offer from one of the several interested consortiums. Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owner Josh Harris landed the winning bid for a record $6.05 billion dollars.
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Similar to the process to find a winning bid, getting the sale across the finish line has not been rapid, and now a new development may bog things down even further.
On Friday, Brian Davis’ Urban Echo Energy officially dragged Bank of America into court with a wild accusation about their attempts to purchase the Washington Commanders. In the suit, the company claims that they put forth a $7.1 billion bid for the franchise, but Bank of America withheld it from current majority owner Daniel Snyder.
Washington Commanders sale price: $6.5 billion
The suit also claims that $5.1 billion had been deposited with Bank of America and the company is now seeking a court order to force the sale to Urban Echo since they have a higher bid than the Josh Harris Group did.
When it was originally reported that the former Duke basketball and NBA player was getting involved in the bidding it was met with puzzlement. Since it was surprising that he would have the means and connections to put together such a massive bid.
Where Davis is getting his funding has been the source of much speculation with some linking him to the Saudi Arabian government, since it has tried to make inroads with Western culture by purchasing popular sports teams and leagues in recent years.
Mattering on how the suit goes, it could push back a finalization of the sale to the Josh Harris Group for a long time.
In the end, a sale is all about the money, so it would be very peculiar for Bank of America to not bring Snyder a record-shattering $7.1 billion bid.