The latest Washington Commanders news isn’t coming as much of a surprise to one of the NFL’s most prominent owners.
Forbes reported Wednesday that Commanders owners Dan Snyder hired Bank of America to look into the sale of the Commanders. It’s not clear if they are eyeing a full sale of the team or just a minority stake, as Snyder bought out his minority partners in March of 2021 and has 100 percent control of the team.
The Commanders have said that they’re keeping all options open, but this is a potential inflection point for the organization. Snyder has been mired in legal issues, and shortly after the Forbes report came out, ESPN reported that the US attorney’s office is investigating the team over alleged financial improprieties.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offered his reaction to the development in his weekly appearance on the “K&C Masterpiece.”
“Well, I don’t think I was necessarily surprised, because he recently acquired a very significant portion of the team by 40% from his other partners,” Jones said. “And at the same time, he’s entertaining the building of a new stadium…
“The acquisition of the partnership interest, as well as the building of the new stadium is going to require huge economic resources. Almost unthinkable economic resources. …This doesn’t surprise me that he’s in a time of real planning, real thinking about how to manage the economic resources it takes that we want the Washington team to be.”
Jones then was asked to clarify if he was saying he thinks it’s significantly more likely he’s selling minority stake rather than divesting in franchise altogether.
“It sounds like I’m saying that, but I really am saying I bet all options are on the table, and then you see what might be possible," Jones said. "That’s what I think this exercise is, let’s see what our options are here, see where the big interest is that makes the most sense, in their case to the Snyder’s, and then go from there.
“It’s one thing to sit there at your table and draw up all your plans and figure out how you’re going to get it done financially, but in this case you need more, and that’s a third party. So he’s out testing the waters.”
There are plenty of moving pieces to the story, so at this point just about anything seems possible.
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