Rumors of the Washington Commanders sale have permeated over the past year and on Thursday, Dan Snyder agreed to sell the team for $6 billion. Once finalized, this will be the most valuable team sale in American sports history.
On March 28, a fully-financed bid for the team was officially submitted by a bidding group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets owner Josh Harris and including Danaher Corporation co-founder Mitchell Rales and basketball Hall of Famer-turned-entrepreneur Magic Johnson. Harris and Johnson previously partnered in an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Broncos. Harris, who grew up in Chevy Chase, must sell his ownership stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers to complete this sale.
For many fans of both the Commanders and football at large, they will welcome the exit of Snyder, who has been one of the most controversial and unsuccessful owners in American football.
Snyder purchased the team, then the Redskins, for $800 million (roughly $1.45 billion today) from the Cooke family in May 1999, not long after the construction of FedEx Field. Under his ownership, the franchise has largely failed to emulate the success of the 1980s and 1990s teams. They made the playoffs six times and won the NFC East four times in his 24 years of his ownership, never appearing in the Super Bowl or even the NFC Championship game since that time. The team has a combined record of 164–220–2 with a post-season record of 2-6 since Snyder bought the team.
Under Synder’s ownership, the team gained an unfortunate reputation for overpaying veterans who were past their prime, such as Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders in the last years of their Hall of Fame careers. While the team had some draft successes like linebackers Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan, there were also draft busts such as quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Jason Taylor.
The Commanders were investigated for financial improprieties by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in April of last year and has also been investigated for sexual harassment of cheerleaders, workplace misconduct and accusations of withholding payments to the NFL. After three minority owners reported a $55,000,000 line of credit was taken out by the team without their permission, they filed a complaint with the league. The minority owners accused Snyder of “using the team as his piggy bank”, including a $4.5 million charge to the team for including their logo on his private jet. Snyder also steadfastly refused to change the name from the Redskins, a name widely considered racist and insulting to indigenous Americans, until pressure mounted and the name was changed to “Football Team” for two seasons.
Despite the lack of success and an abundance of controversies around the team, Snyder stands poised to sell the team for a record sum. Forbes estimated the team’s value at $5.6 billion in August 2022, and it is rumored that Snyder may sell the team for as much as $7 billion. The Broncos were sold in 2022 for $4.65 billion, nearly double the existing record for team value.
The team has also been criticized in past years for a lack of Black representation in management and coaching on the team.
“Given the support that the community has given to the team, we hope that the new owners will come in and be a part of the fabric of our community. Don’t look at this as just a franchise for ownership, but as an opportunity and a cause to bring about equity, inclusion, and diversity in its true and purest sense. The franchise should be a true representation of the American ideal of Justice for all, that’s what we’re looking for in this new ownership group,” said Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene Grant, who is supportive of his home team.
“It’s not just a team,” Grant added. “We want to see that represented in the management, on the field, in the ownership, and on the staff. True diversity.”
Eric Bieniemy will serve as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator this upcoming season. He has served as the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator the past five seasons, including during two Super Bowl wins.
“Why not Washington,” questioned Bieniemy. “Look at all the talent. Look at the players they have. I have never backed down from a challenge. I embrace this challenge.”
Head Coach Ron Rivera was pleased with locking down Bieniemy to take control of an offense in flux. “We got our guy,” Rivera said as he introduced Bieniemy during a press conference.
General Manager Martin Mayhew, a key member of the front office staff, will be working closely with the new offensive coordinator to acquire players that meet the needs of their system.
“We lean on our coaching staff. Our coaches do a great job evaluating players. That’s one thing I think that Coach Ron Rivera’s done a really good job of, putting the staff together of guys that know what they’re looking at. So we lean on those guys a lot. Eric will be very involved in the process. We definitely lean on him and Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio as coordinators to know what they want as far as skillset set and what they look for in certain players. So, Eric will be very involved in that.”
