13 April 2023 , 13:36
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is not going to bid for the Washington Commanders - with the storied NFL franchise up for sale by controversial owner Dan Snyder.
Bezos has held an interest in buying the Commanders and he was linked among the bidders for some time, despite never officially entering the race. He even hired a firm - Allen & Co. - to explore a bid, but he has pulled out according to Puck News.
In March, it was reported that Bezos - who has a reported net worth of $124billion (£99.12m) - had been blocked from bidding for the NFC East team by Snyder. The 59-year-old owns the Washington Post, which published a number of articles exposing the alleged cases of sexual harassment in the NFL franchise.
Back in November, Bezos and rapper Jay-Z went to dinner in Los Angeles to reportedly entertain joining forces in a bid to buy the Commanders. The hip-hop star is worth an estimated $1.3bn (£1bn) but the epic partnership never came to fruition.
Recently, a pair of bids of around $6bn (£4.81bn) were reportedly made for the Commanders without any further information regarding which would be accepted by current owner Snyder. Discussions about a vote to remove the controversial Snyder have taken place among NFL owners, only for the group to wait to see how a potential sale would unfold.
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Groups led by Josh Harris, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos are interested in acquiring the Commanders with several parties reportedly submitting bids. Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson - who has stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers, LA Sparks and Los Angeles Football Club - was part of the Harris bid that failed to land the Denver Broncos last summer.
Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson has joined Josh Harris' bid to buy the Washington Commanders (Jill Hunter/AP/REX/Shutterstock)The bid by businessman Harris - who owns the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) and New Jersey Devils (NHL) - and Mitchell Rales’ group was reportedly the sole serious contender as the bid is backed by the money needed to survive the NFL’s vetting process. Their fully-financed bid matched Snyder’s asking price as Harris and co. have been laying the groundwork for an acquisition of the Commanders for some time.
When asked if the sale of the franchise will actually happen, Commanders president Jason Wright expressed faith in the process. Rockets owner Fertitta recently told CNBC he bid $5.6bn (£4.48bn) as that was what Forbes valued the franchise at.
“At some point you've got to draw a line in the sand, and that's where we are," Fertitta said. “If they can get somebody to pay them more than that, good luck to them. I don't think $6 billion is the right number.”
Fans of the franchise will be desperate for Snyder to sell as the three-time Super Bowl champions have reached the playoffs just six times since 1999, and current head coach Ron Rivera is the 10th to take the reins since Snyder bought the franchise. The team went 8-8-1 in 2022, finishing bottom of the surprisingly competitive NFC East.