No Really… Dan Snyder IS Selling The Washington Commanders… And Soon!
By Mark Solway | May 13th, 2023
Sometimes you wish for something so hard, that when it happens, it’s hard to reconcile in your own mind. Case in point? Dan Snyder selling the Washington Commanders.
Sure it was weeks ago that Snyder reached an agreement in principle, to sell the franchise to Josh Harris and his group for $6 billion. Admittedly, it felt safe to say then that the reign of terror was finally coming to an end.
But for some reason, it still didn’t seem “done” as nothing had been said publicly by the Snyders.
That changed yesterday.
The Commanders issued the following statement from Dan and Tanya Snyder:
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the Commanders franchise with Josh Harris, an area native, and his impressive group of partners. We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”
Rooting for Josh in the coming years?
Somehow I doubt it.
There’s just something about Mr. Snyder that makes that seem unlikely.
At this point, it’s sometimes hard to even believe that he rooted for the team as a child. After all, he not only sunk the franchise, but seemed completely self-absorbed in doing so. A mere play toy for his whims.
The Sale
Snyder and wife Tanya formally began a search for a buyer in November last year, when they hired Bank of America to seek offers for all or a portion of the Commanders.
If the $6 billion sale is accurate, it surpasses last year’s record of $4.65 billion set by the Walton-Penner group when they purchased the Denver Broncos.
That’s a lot of ducats to lie on while you’re rooting for the team.
Granted he may have to give up some of that money to pay off what may be as much as a billion dollars worth of debt, but he should be left with plenty of money to sail off into the sunset and buy some more yachts and planes.
Snyder originally bought the team in 1999 for $800 million. That’s a pretty sizeable return on his original investment.
Now the NFL just has to agree to the sale.
Getting Over The Finish Line
In a statement, Harris said:
“We look forward to the formal approval of our ownership by the NFL in the months ahead and to having the honor to serve as responsible and accountable stewards of the Commanders franchise moving forward.”
The announcement comes two days after the league’s finance committee met in New York to study the the deal.
The NFL owners can now be briefed on the agreement when they meet in Minneapolis on May 22 and 23, and vote on the deal in the coming months.
Tt is still not a foregone conclusion that the sale is complete.
According to NFL rules, there can be no more than $1.1 billion in debt.
Apparently there is some concern from the finance committee that the debt in the Harris bid exceeds the league’s debt limits. In that instance, the Harris group would need a waiver of the league’s financing rules or would have to change the structure of the arrangement.
But it’s getting closer.
Call the Parade Marshall. Order those Cubans.
And believe that the end is near.
