Embattled Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is looking to sell the team. Late last week reports emerged that Snyder wants to sell the entire franchise, not just a minority stake. When the news hit, many began to ponder what the highly racially polarized NFL ownership and executive structure would look like with an ownership group with a majority of Black members.
.@stephenasmith reacts to Dan Snyder's potential sale of the Commanders: pic.twitter.com/0IJVlrpS0F
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 2, 2022
“I’m talking about a majority owner of a National Football League franchise that happens to be a Black person. That would be nice,” Stephen A. Smith said on “First Take” following the announcement.
“One of the things we have discussed and lamented throughout recent history is the lack of representation, the lack of diversity when it comes to the ownership,” he said. “Maybe if there were Black owners, more issues would be addressed more poignantly, more transparency would exist. Obviously more coaches would be of African-American descent and beyond. So, I think I look at this as an opportunity to ingratiate an African-American into the proceedings.”
Smith mentioned some vestiges of Black representation in the NFL owner’s box, like Mellody Hobson, a minority owner of the Denver Broncos, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also a part of the ownership group.
Now a son of the DMV region also wants in on the potential new sale, and his inclusion would be a true full-circle moment.
Along with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Weather Channel owner Byron Allen showing interest, Brooklyn Nets superstar forward Kevin Durant is looking for a way into the conversation. Durant is one of the biggest celebrity advocates for the DMV region as a native of Washington and Seat Plesant, Maryland, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where FedEx Field is located.
Durant has a youth center called The Durant Center located not too far from where the Commanders play and he produced a documentary on the DMV origins of many NBA players called “Something In The Water,” paying athletic homage to the area’s hooper elite.
On the #Commanders possible sale: My understanding is that number could reach $7B with a timeline of the March league meeting if all goes well. https://t.co/qWa4LxE0zy
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 6, 2022
“In a perfect world, I would be a part of it. I would love to do it. I would love to give a little bit of my money to be a part of the Commanders, but we’ll see. Hopefully, it’s somebody nice. I heard Bezos and Jay-Z, but you never know,” Durant said to ESPN.
The sale will come at a hefty ticket, with the selling price expected to be $7 billion, a massive return on investment for the team Snyder bought for $800 million with two partners. The price would also be an NFL record, and there has reportedly been heavy interest in purchasing the team.
What are the Commanders expected to sell for and when will the sale be finalized?@JayGlazer has the latest for us ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/VOjuSHB1Ua
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 6, 2022
“It’s to sell everything,” said NFL insider Jay Glazer on Fox Sports. “Look, we had Jim Irsay a couple of weeks ago say, ‘Hey, let’s start talking about removing him as an owner.’ But you’re not going to need that because just sell the entire team. I’m being told the asking price is going to go for $7 billion. The other interesting part is the timeline. This is not going to be a long, drawn-out process. I’m told that the hope is to have this done within the next six months and actually have it finalized by the NFL owners meeting next March.”
With all the racial and sexual harassment issues experienced within the Commanders organization, could the NFL finally break the Black Codes with a majority Black ownership group? If Byron Allen and Kevin Durant have their way, then it will.
