The Daniel Snyder era could be coming to a merciful end in Washington.
The Commanders owner announced that he was hiring Bank of America Securities as he and wife (and co-owner) Tanya Snyder explore the potential sale of the snake-bitten franchise.
The Snyders have overseen a reign of rankness like few others in NFL history since purchasing the team back in 1999. Under the Snyders’ stewardship, Washington has won two playoff games, the last of which came nearly 17 years ago.
In the years since the Snyders’ purchase, the franchise has straddled from one controversy to the next. Whether it was the team’s racist former nickname, numerous allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment by high-ranking officials, a DEA drug probe involving a former team trainer or, most recently, accusations of financial impropriety, Washington has been a smoldering pile of garbage for much of the Snyders’ tenure.
And as news of the Commanders’ potential sale filled the D.C. airwaves, it also seems to have brought the vultures. Numerous robber barons have been liked with purchasing the team in recent days.
MORE: Is Dan Snyder selling the Commanders?
Here’s what you need to know about each of Washington’s next potential buyers:
Jay-Z
The famed rapper-turned-mogul-turned-gentrifier is one of the highest-profile names linked with the Commanders. He’s got experience in the ownership game, having bought a 1.5 percent stake in the Nets back in 2004. However, he sold it back in 2013 after his stake shrank to just 1 percent.
Nevertheless, Jay-Z remains actively involved in the sporting landscape. His Roc Nation Sports agency has a host of big-name athletes on its roster, including LaMelo Ball, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Saquon Barkley, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
Snyder purchased the Commanders for $750 million in 1999. Forbes calculates their value at $5.6 billion in 2022. If Jay-Z were to get involved in a purchase, he would likely have to partner with someone to match the Snyders’ valuation for the franchise.
Jay-Z net worth
Per Celebrity Net Worth, Jay-Z is valued at $1.3 billion. Much of that stems from his business holdings, which include investments into Armand de Brignac champagne, Tidal and D’Usse cognac, among other brands.
Byron Allen
Media magnate Byron Allen has long had his sights set on owning an NFL team. And after missing out on the Broncos, it appears he’s hoping to strike a deal with the Snyders to land the Commanders.
Allen, 61, is set to place a bid on Washington, per Bloomberg’s Kamaron Leach.
Much like Hov, Allen has obscene amounts of money in his coffer. However, given the price tag one would assume the Snyders would place on Washington, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be able to nab a majority stake in the franchise — unless he partners with a larger bidder.
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Byron Allen net worth
Allen is sitting on a net worth of $800 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. He’s the head honcho at Entertainment Studios and owns Allen Media Group. That gives him ownership of 12 different cable channels and about 70 different television shows.
While that’s a mammoth wad of cash to have, the reality is that an NFL team requires significantly more than that to operate. Per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the average NFL owner has to be able to cut a check for 30 percent of the final price.
If we conservatively estimate that the Snyders push for a $5 billion offer, that means Allen would have to have $1.6 billion to offer to the couple straight away. That doesn’t seem feasible given his net worth.
Jeff Bezos
It seems the Lex Luthor lookalike could be in contention for another D.C.-based institution.
Bezos is rumored to be pursuing a deal for the Commanders and could possibly partner with Jay-Z, according to People’s Charlotte Triggs and Natasha Dye.
Jeff Bezos is “looking into buying” the Washington Commanders and may partner with Jay-Z on the purchase, according to @charlottetriggs and @natashadye of People pic.twitter.com/fj6QMZGOjb
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 3, 2022
The noted union-buster is loaded and has links to the NFL (his former company, Amazon, broadcasts Thursday night games on their streaming platform). He also has ties to the area, having purchased The Washington Post for $250 million back in 2013.
Jeff Bezos net worth
Bezos is worth a cool $127 billion, per Celebrity Net Worth. The vast majority of that wealth comes from Bezos founding part-business, part-NGO Amazon in 1994.
Bezos also has stakes in Google ($1 billion+), Uber and AirBnB, as well as still retaining a sizable portion of holdings in Amazon.
He certainly has the dough to make a run at the Commanders’ gig.
Ted Lerner
Everyone’s favorite owner (except Nats fans) Ted Lerner has deep ties to the DMV region and is already adept at the team ownership process, having purchased the Nationals in 2006.
With decent experience in professional sports and history in the area, the Lerners certainly have some of the qualities to get themselves a piece of the Commanders. It remains to be seen whether the Lerner family would be willing to put real money down for rights to the franchise.
Ted Lerner net worth
Ted Lerner has a net worth of $5.5 billion, per Celebrity Net Worth. That makes him one of the richest people in the state of Maryland, and should set him up nicely should he want to make a bid for the Commanders later in the year.
