Report: Todd Boehly is expected to make a strong push to purchase the Washington Commanders from Dan Snyder

Still waiting

The Washington Commanders season is over, but the news cycle never ends for this team. The biggest story this year will be the potential change in ownership that many people expect to happen. Dan and Tanya Snyder started the process of a potential sale on November 2nd when they hired Bank of America Securities to look into their options. They have still not confirmed whether they are looking to sell the entire franchise, or if they want to sell a minority stake in the team to likely provide needed capital to pay down debt and build a new stadium.

Dan Snyder has been the most hated owner in the DMV area, and is considered one of worst owners in major sports. He has been investigated multiple times over the last few years, and many of those investigations are ongoing. The NFL started a second investigation, this one led by Mary-Jo White, after new accusations came from the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the team’s toxic workplace culture. Investigations from the Attorney Generals in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia were also started after accusations of financial improprieties.

It has been quiet on the sale front recently. The first round of bids for the team were submitted before Christmas last year, and the Snyders reportedly received multiple bids for more than $7 billion. There were reportedly at least 5 bidders during that round, and possibly as many as 7. There aren’t many people in the world that can afford that price, along with the additional cost of building a new stadium at a location that would need to worked out after the sale.

One name that was brought up after the initial sale news was Todd Boehly who is the cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Eldridge Industries. He is also a co-owner of multiple professional sports teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers(MLB), Los Angeles Lakers(NBA), Los Angeles Sparks(WNBA), and Chelsea(Premier League). Boehly purchased Chelsea last year, and partnered with Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano , co-founders of Clearlake Capital. That duo had agreed to a deal to purchase the minority ownership stakes from Dwight Schar, Fred Smith, and Robert Rothman for $900 million, but Dan Snyder blocked the sale and bought the shares to regain full ownership. The Clearlake group then moved on to try to purchase the Denver Broncos last year, but failed to win the bidding process.

Todd Boehly grew up in Bethesda, Maryland and currently has a net worth of $5.3 billion. He would need to have partners to purchase the Washington Commanders, and eventually build a new stadium. Another partnership with Eghbali and Feliciano could give him the resources needed to make a strong bid. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is also expected to be interested in purchasing the team, but Snyder is reportedly not a fan due to his ownership of the Washington Post which has done a good job reporting on the ongoing Snyder saga.

Dan and Tanya Snyder are still expected to sell the franchise, but that won’t be official until the contracts are signed, and we get a big announcement hopefully sooner than later. The Snyders made headlines two weeks ago when it was reported that they listed their normal country of residence as England when they filed a certificate of incorporation of a private limited company for Snyder UK Investments Limited. Dan Snyder’s father held dual citizenship in the US and England, but it’s not known if Snyder is actually planning on fleeing the country after he sells the team, but he has owned properties in England for a long time.