As the Washington Commanders’ turn took another spin Friday afternoon when Josh Kosman of the New York Post dropped his latest report regarding the sale.
Per Kosman, NFL owners currently do not have enough votes to force Washington owner Dan Snyder to sell the Commanders if he doesn’t sell voluntarily.
For the NFL to remove Snyder as owner, they’d need 24 votes, and that’s a problem:
However, a source close to one NFL owner told The Post that the team bigwigs can’t reach the 75% threshold needed to force a sale by Snyder, a league pariah who faces allegations of sexual harassment and ESPN’s recent report of a criminal FBI investigation into allegations of financial misconduct.
Make no mistake; all owners want Snyder out. However, banding together and voting for his removal sets a dangerous precedent, something the entire league wants to avoid.
We’ve heard conflicting reports regarding the status of the Commanders recently. A Washington Post report two weeks ago stated that Snyder wanted indemnification from future liabilities and costs from other owners and the NFL. That didn’t go over well with the other owners.
This week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that DC billionaire Mitchell Rales had joined Josh Harris’ bid for the Commanders. This was viewed as big news, with Schefter reporting Rales’ involvement. Snyder has also reportedly told some owners that Washington’s sale was “looking good” and that other owners would be happy with the sale price via The Washington Post.
What does that mean? It’s difficult to say.
In Kosman’s report from Friday, he noted that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos signed a confidentiality agreement recently, indicating that he could possibly be allowed to enter the bidding process. Snyder and his wife Tanya have reportedly kept Bezos out of the sale process because the Amazon founder owns The Washington Post. Snyder believes the respected newspaper has played a significant role in his downfall.
Something else to note, it wasn’t clear if Bezos signed the confidentiality agreement with Snyder or the NFL.
Snyder reportedly wants $6 billion for the Commanders, and the NFL would still like a resolution on the sale by March 26, the beginning of the league owner’s meetings.
Buckle up, folks.