New Owner - does it matter who?

[Boone]

Right now, according to what's 'out there', there are 3 billionaires who have bid or tried to bid for the Commanders and who are 'still in the mix'.

Jeff Bezos.
Joshua Harris.
Tillman Fertitta.

I know there's been a lot of 'it doesn't matter who it is as long as it's not Dan Snyder' talk. But isn't that kind of mindset what got us Dan Snyder? Maybe it was impossible to know back then what kind of a man Dan Snyder really was - but it's hard to deny that knowing who he was would've been pretty key to avoiding the mess we've experienced since then.

Who are these guys? Why do they want to own the Commanders? What are each of their intentions? I have to believe that the answers to those questions absolutely matter.

It's true. Dan Snyder is the devil. And anyone has got to be better than the devil. But 5 years from now, we'll want more than 'not Dan Snyder' out of a new owner. A lot more. Which of these guys is the best choice?

 

[Chris]

Who are these guys? Why do they want to own the Commanders? What are each of their intentions? I have to believe that the answers to those questions absolutely matter.

To your 2nd & 3rd questions…I have no idea because there has been no expressions by any of the parties. Though WE think that the answers absolutely matter…I believe that the price is the only thing that matter to Snyder.

Thinking back, wasn’t Snyder‘s ‘fanship’ considered a positive? That didn’t exactly work out.

Considering the vast financial demands that this purchase will include beyond the selling price, I would want an individual or group with a history of success(s) in their previously chosen field(s) AND their having access and control over fuck you level money.

The team already has a house-poor owner now, I don’t want another. So, with that in mind, only 1 of the 3 listed meet my criteria.

 

[Boone]

Yep. And just for clarity's sake - I know Snyder doesn't care about potential owner qualities, I'm simply asking about the supposed big 3 candidates still theoretically in the mix.

 

[Boone]

Anyone else wondered if a 3 party sale might be a possibility? Snyder sells to Fertitta who turns around and sells to Bezos for an quick 1/2 to $1 billion profit?

If the only barrier to a Bezos sale is that Snyder won't directly sell to him, could something crazy like this happen? Or is ownership of an NFL franchise so profitable in the long haul that even that kind of deal isn't enough?

 

[Canadian Hog]

Dan Snyder epitomizes scraping the very bottom of the barrel in terms of ownership effectiveness. Anybody can take over this team and it would feel like an improvement, but it doesn't mean it would be a successful rebirth. The small group of us who have been crazy enough to stick around all these years deserve nothing but the very best and the cream of the crop as they say. Our devotion and loyalty all these years, while being given absolutely nothing back in return, gives us the right to be greedy.

 

[Chris]

Whoever the new owner is will likely be the owner throughout the remainder of my time on earth.

Give me one that can unquestionably afford it no matter what.

 

[Knightingale]

Anyone else wondered if a 3 party sale might be a possibility? Snyder sells to Fertitta who turns around and sells to Bezos for an quick 1/2 to $1 billion profit?

If the only barrier to a Bezos sale is that Snyder won't directly sell to him, could something crazy like this happen? Or is ownership of an NFL franchise so profitable in the long haul that even that kind of deal isn't enough?

I was wondering about this when I was listening to the John Keim report in the car this morning.
Could this happen? Or could Snyder put in the langauge of the contract that the new owner can't sell to Bezos? (Kind of like all the hoohaa over her in Europe about Germany etc trying to send Swiss made arms to Ukraine. Switzerland can sell manufactured weapons to Germany etc, but a clause in the contract means they can't sell them on to anyone else.) Could he contractually block that?

 

[Boone]

I’m not sure such a contract could be enforced. Once the team is no longer the property of Snyder how can he stipulate anything? Bit I’m not a lawyer

The scenario is obviously not likely, just wondered if it was a possibility, no matter how remote?

 

[SilentThreat]

I highly doubt any owner willing to put $6B out there to own a team is going to agree to anyones terms about who they can sell to.

 

[Knightingale]

True. But I wouldn't put it past Snyder to try. After all, he's trying to get the league to agree to indemnity from any legal wranglings on the team moving forward post sale according the The Keim podcast. Which isn't something the league would usually countenance.

But, yeah, I highly doubt that - or anything like that - really happens.

If Snyder is set against Bezos, then I think it would take a substantial overbid to make him change his mind.

 

[Neophyte]

Yes, it matters.

As I mentioned in another thread, not all billionaires are created equal and the NFL isn't a place where just any billionaire can play at this point. Buying the team is only half the battle right now.

Understand, most of the current 31 owners (including Snyder himself) could NOT afford to bid on the Washington franchise today if they didn't already own a team. In fact, without that one asset, many of the current owners aren't even part of the billionaires club.

After dropping somewhere north of $6 Billion on the team, a new owner is going to have to follow that up with a new stadium, which is another $2 Billion even if it is kept to the smaller side. Granted, a new owner is likely to get help from local and state government to build the stadium so won't have to foot the whole of the bill but will still have to pony up significant cash for it, and do so soon after tying up a sizable portion of their liquidity with buying the team.

Then there are the team facilities themselves. As we have found out this week, this is yet another place the Washington franchise is a bottom dweller. While it won't take billions to fix this, there won't be any government assistance for it either meaning the new owners will have to handle it 100% out of pocket on their own.

All while presumably trying to turn the team into a contender on the field and servicing the debt incurred to buy it.

 

[Chris]

I wonder if at least some internal portions of the Ashburn facilities could have been improved (training room, locker room, plumbing issues) if House-Poor Dan hadn’t been cooking the books to pay himself 4.5m to put a sticker on his private jet?

 

[Neophyte]

Sure, Chris. $4.5 million would have gone a long way toward to addressing facility issues in Ashburn.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Khan hasn't produced squat in Jax and has the deep pockets, Tepper in Carolina, Haslam's in Cleveland - these teams haven't had really any success since the sale of the team. Pegula in Buffalo seems to be the only recent new owner with any success except not his hockey team. Hell the Broncos ownership has stupid money and might have screwed that team for years with the Wilson deal. Yes none of those people has Bezos money, but making money in one area of life and then running an NFL franchise are two different items. I know a gentleman, unbelievably good a real estate projections, land development etc. He purchased a small finance company, can't be to difficult right, lend money, make money, lost 20 million in 5 years. Super deep pockets in MLB and the NBA can make an owner a genius in those leagues, with hard caps in the NFL and NHL, takes a different mind set.

 

[Chris]

Good points, SO.

Having less money doesn’t guarantee success either though. I guess I would prefer a new majority partner that doesn’t have to muddle around trying to free up the necessary 30% down that has to be liquid.

The high price of sports teams now is really going to result in only a very few ultra-wealthy individuals even being in the conversation. The ones who are, or at least have been, are all going to be fighting for the chance against each other.

 

[Boone]

I don't think anyone believes Bezos=on the field success, immediate or otherwise. But it would mean state of the art new stadium, top tier facilities and medical/training staff, money is no object stuff. To be wildly successful on the field requires a great GM and front office (and money is helpful in acquiring those), but moreso a great coaching staff and elite skill position players (and that's where an uber-rich owner can't have that much influence.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Whoever ends up with the team is "A" filthy stinkin rich regardless in these modern times of franchises in any sport except maybe MLS (not a dig I have no idea what those cost) and "B" vetted by the league which I'd wager has some crazy standards in who joins the elite, if it was just money Bezos would've had a team awhile ago.

Of course the absolute cynic in me believes in a small percentage that the evil midget thinks he can just bide his time and hope it all blows over, now I'm going to vomit after typing that.

 

[Chris]

Times have changed. Values have escalated tremendously.

Those crazy standards the NFL has approved Snyder to join their ‘elite’.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Times have changed. Values have escalated tremendously.

Those crazy standards the NFL has approved Snyder to join their ‘elite’.

1999 was a long time ago and back then wasn't he viewed as a financial whiz kid? I don't really recall since I didn't live in the area anymore and all local Cleveland media cared about was the Browns coming back. Of course JKC could've helped avoid all this mess if he'd just left the team to John. Not saying our success rate would've been better but not much to say it would've been worse.

 

[Neophyte]

I'm not suggesting that uber-rich = instant on-field success, SkinsOrlando. Not in the least.

I am suggesting that other than Bezos, the names being thrown around right now will have to stretch to buy the team, which may mean having issues doing anything else for a while and this team needs those other things taken care of as much as it needs a new owner.