- Washington Commanders are valued at $5.6 billion by Forbes.
- Snyder isn’t being forced to sell the team, according to a person familiar with the matter.
- A sale could value the Commanders as high as $7 billion, the person said.
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has hired Bank of America to explore “potential transactions,” the team said Wednesday.
The NFL team hired the bank to help facilitate a potential sale, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Snyder isn’t being forced to sell the team despite mounting pressure to potentially remove him as an NFL owner, the person said. Snyder and the Commanders are currently being investigated by both the House Oversight Committee and the NFL for sexual harassment and financial misconduct. The NFL’s probe is being led by former Securities and Exchange Chair Mary Jo White.
“Mary Jo White is continuing her review. We have no update on a timeline,” the league said Wednesday.
ESPN reported later Wednesday the alleged financial misconduct is also the subject of a criminal probe by federal prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia.
A deal for the Commanders could value the team as much as $7 billion, the person said. Forbes valued the team at $5.6 billion in its annual team valuations list, making the franchise the sixth most valuable in the NFL.
The league said Wednesday that any deal would have to go through its finance committee, and would require the approval of 24 of the NFL’s 32 teams.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said at last month’s NFL owners’ meeting that there was “merit to remove” Snyder as owner of the Commanders.
“It’s something we have to review, we have to look at all the evidence and we have to be thorough and it’s something that has to be given serious consideration,” Irsay said of voting on Snyder’s removal last month.
After Irsay’s comments, the Commanders released a statement saying Snyder wouldn’t sell the team.
“We are confident that, when he has an opportunity to see the actual evidence in this case, Mr. Irsay will conclude that there is no reason for the Snyders to consider selling the franchise. And they won’t,” the statement said.
Snyder has owned the Commanders since 1999. In the last 23 seasons, the Commanders have made the playoffs six times and have yet to advance to a conference title game. Snyder has drawn consistent ire from the Commanders’ fan base for his behavior and the team’s performance.
Source: Business - cnbc.com
