The price tag for an NFL franchise continues to get steeper and steeper, but Washington Commanders‘ owner Daniel Snyder might be taking that even further than some might expect.
The beleaguered billionaire has spent a lot of money and had little success since purchasing the franchise from the estate of the late Jack Kent Cooke in 1999. Over the years, he’s been happy to sign several high-profile free agents to the roster, only to see the vast majority of them end up becoming big-money busts.
During his time as the team’s owner, Washington has only made it to the postseason six times and has a combined 2-6 playoff record in that span.
While Snyder can never make up for those losses on the field, he’s apparently looking to recoup some of his financial failures — to the tune of $7 Billion. He’s on the lookout now for a buyer to take a majority interest in the team.
In November, Snyder hired Bank of America Securities to “explore potential transactions” with the franchise. At the time, many believed that Snyder simply wanted to add a minority partner for cash flow purposes.
It appears that the initial offers that came in were nowhere near what Snyder was hoping for. It’s been reported that none of the first rounds of bids exceeded $6.3 billion. And one of the favorites to purchase the club, Amazon founder & CEO Jeff Bezos, didn’t even submit an opening bid.
If Snyder does eventually get the $7 billion asking price, it would be a record for a sports franchise and $1.6 billion more than the Denver Broncos sold for last year.
It’s still widely believed that Bezos is the frontrunner to own the organization. However, if he does so, he may have to do it at an accelerated pace. Several reports in the D.C. area are now saying that the team could be sold as soon as next month.
A report from Front Office Sports named Todd Boehly, co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dodgers, and Sparks, as another interested party. Clearlake Capital co-founders Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano are also potential purchasers. So is John Henry, the owner of the Fenway Sports Group.
The Washington Commanders are worth an estimated $5.6 billion, according to Forbes. Daniel Snyder purchased the franchise for a then-record $800 million in 1999.
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