There has been much speculation over the next owners of the Washington Commanders. After long-time owner Dan Synder officially put the team up for sale, a number of parties have expressed their interest. Official bids have been submitted by Sixers owner Josh Harris, whose ownership group includes Magic Johnson, as well as Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has also submitted a $5.6 billion bid, which would be lower than the reported $6 billion offered by other groups.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has long been linked to the sale of the Commanders. The third-richest man in the world has long resided in Washington and owns the legacy newspaper, The Washington Post. He has long been considered a potential bidder. However, drama emerged last month when sources claimed the Synders had blocked Bezos from bidding. The Synders have denied this claim. It is known that a third, anonymous group toured the Commanders’ facilities along with Harris and Apostolopoulos. But whether that was Bezos, or another ownership group, is unknown.
Bezos Out According To Sources
First reported by Teddy Schleifer at Puck, Bezos is officially out of the running for the Commanders ownership. Bezos had been seriously considering making an offer, going as far as to hire Allen & Co. to explore the feasibility of making a bid. At one point in the proceedings, Jay-Z was reportedly part of Bezos’ group. Despite the heavy circulation of the rumor, that was later proven false. However, according to Schleifer’s sources, Bezos will not be submitting a formal bid. A reason for why Bezos is pulling out was not given.
That leaves the bids by Harris and Apostolopoulos as the two front-runners. Both bids are said to be of equal value, meaning it will be down to the Synders to decide the organization’s future. It is unlikely that the sale of the team will occur before the 2023 NFL season. Furthermore, the sale will likely be delayed until the 2024 off-season to minimize the impact on the team. The sale will end a tumultuous ownership saga for Synder, who has consistently drawn negative headlines during his tenure. Most recently, Synder faced the wrath of his fellow NFL owners after it was revealed he had been cooking the Commanders books to withhold money from the NFL’s revenue-sharing scheme. On the field, the Commanders are looking to rebuild after failing to post a winning record for the sixth consecutive season in 2022.
[via]