Washington Commanders sale news: Dan Snyder waiting for $7 billion, Jeff Bezos still lurking in the shadows?

Next week could get interesting for Washington fans

Several semi-newsworthy stories/tweets/press conferences happened yesterday in the ongoing saga that is Dan Snyder selling the Washington Commanders. It has been quiet since the New York Post put out a speculative story about Jeff Bezos possibly selling the Washington Post to help persuade Dan Snyder, who reportedly doesn’t want to do business him, to sell him the team. The Post has been a thorn in Snyder’s side for years, but has been reporting on the toxic workplace Snyder oversaw during his more than two decades of team ownership.

Jeff Bezos’s name started off yesterday’s little wave of Dan Snyder/Washington Commanders sale news. Charles Gasparino, who lists Fox Business Network and the New York Post in his bio, claims that his NFL sources say the Commanders sale will take place sometime between this Sunday’s Super Bowl, and the NFL owners meetings that will take place March 26-29 in Phoenix, AZ. He also said that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will bid after initial bids are in, and notes that Bezos is, by far, the wealthiest of the potential bidders who have been linked to this sale.

I don’t know Charles Gasparino, but a brief stroll through his twitter page tells me that there isn’t a mom/mom’s basement joke that he won’t make when he is questioned. Everything he posted in his SCOOP is information that has previously been reported of speculated on by journalists who cover the NFL on a regular basis. Saying that Bezos will wait until the initial bids are in doesn’t mean much because the first round of bids took place around Christmas time last year. It was widely expected that if a sale takes place, it wouldn’t happen until after the Super Bowl, which the NFL likes to keep the spotlight on for the two weeks after the conference championship games.

A.J. Perez is a journalist for Front Office Sports, and he has been on top of the Dan Snyder sale news from the start. He has provided details about the potential sale, the bidding process, and potential bidders who want to join the NFL’s very exclusive ownership club. After Dan Snyder likely leaked “news” to Forbes that there had been multiple bids for the team in excess of $7 billion. Perez reported that the highest bid submitted during the first round was for $6.3 billion. That number is massive and would set the record for a sports franchise, but it is well short of the $8 billion number that was thrown around as a potential peak for bids.

Perez has previously noted that Jeff Bezos hasn’t submitted a bid, and said yesterday that that is still the case. The speculation that Bezos will swoop in after the “lowballers” put their offers in continues, and Perez said there is no indication that has happened. FOS sources say that Snyder is holding out for at least a $7 billion bid. One big factor that could be holding down other bids, besides the Bezos factor, is Washington’s need to build a new stadium. That cost has gone up from initial reports of $3 billion to more more than $4 billion on top of the cost of the team. Bezos continues to be the leader of the pack in terms of personal wealth, which will keep his name linked to this sale, and others like a potential sale of the Seattle Seahawks.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held his Super Bowl week media scrum yesterday, and was asked two Washington Commanders questions. The first involved the league’s second investigation into the team and Dan Snyder that is led by Mary Jo White. Goodell once again deflected on any kind of timeline. He has maintained that MJW’s investigation will be over when it’s over, and they won’t rush any determinations while the nearly year-long probe continues. Goodell was also asked about the potential sale, and he provided another non-answer. The team is going through a process and if a minority, or majority, stake sale happens it will be reviewed by the owners of the 31 other NFL teams.

What does all of this mean for fans? Not much right now, but after Sunday’s Super Bowl we will likely start getting more leaks about a second round of bidding. The biggest question that hasn’t been directly answered by Dan Snyder, or any of his lawyers, publicists, or team representatives, is whether he actually intends to get out of the football business. Reports continue to say that he does intend a majority sale, but even A.J. Perez acknowledges that there remains some concern around the league that Snyder may decide not to sell if the bids don’t get closer to $7 billion. This is the nightmare scenario for Washington fans who are waiting for the day when Snyder’s disastrous reign as owner comes to an end. There are a lot of signs pointing in the right direction for a full sale, but the lack of meaningful news, and 3 months of waiting since the initial sale news broke has people wondering what the hell is actually going on.

Sell the damn team Dan. It’s time.