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Forbes reported on Wednesday that Snyder had retained Bank of America Securities to explore options including selling "the entire NFL team or a minority stake." Forbes also reported that Snyder has had at least four calls from groups who are interested in buying the franchise.

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Report: Commanders being criminally investigated for alleged financial improprieties
Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 11/2/22
The Washington Commanders are being criminally investigated for allegedly cooking their financial books, according to a report.

ESPN reported on Wednesday that the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia has opened an investigation into allegations of financial improprieties. The investigation was triggered by a letter from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in April.

The Commanders were facing allegations that they kept two different sets of accounting books. One set of books allegedly underreported income and went to the NFL. The other set reportedly contained the true numbers.

The purpose for keeping separate books would have been for the organization to pocket more money and share less with other NFL teams.

NFL bylaws state that teams are supposed to pass 40 percent of ticket revenue (minus ticket-handling charges and taxes) to the league. The money is then dispersed to visiting teams.

Of all the allegations that Daniel Snyder and his franchise have faced, withholding money from his fellow NFL owners could end up being the crime that causes Snyder to lose his team.

ESPN’s report comes the same day that the Commanders announced they are working with a bank to explore potential financial transactions related to the team.

The Commanders are still the subject of an NFL investigation related to workplace misconduct.

Whether or not all these investigations will result in Snyder finally selling the team remains to be seen.

The big fish floating out there that hasn’t been directly linked to interest in the team after yesterday’s massive announcement has been Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He has been interested in owning an NFL team for years, and is already working with the league through his company’s deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football games on Amazon Prime this season. Bezos also personally owns the Washington Post, which has been a continuous thorn in Snyder’s side since long before he bought it.

People is reporting that Bezos is in fact interested in purchasing the Washington franchise. Bezos has a net worth of at least $125 billion and is more than comfortable paying the projected $6+ billion price that the sale of the team is expected to command. He also has the wealth to build a stadium without the help of local and state governments. There has been plenty of speculation that once Dan Snyder is out of the picture, the RFK Stadium site will be back on the table as the next home for the team. The addition of Jay-Z to the ownership group would definitely grab headlines, but is not needed for Bezos to get what he wants.

The source says that Bezos, 58, is “looking into buying the Washington Commanders” after current owners Dan and Tanya Snyder announced they were exploring options to sell the NFL team on Wednesday.

Bezos is considering making the purchase “possibly in partnership” with Jay-Z, according to the insider. The rapper previously owned a stake in the Brooklyn Nets.

The Amazon founder’s interest in purchasing an NFL team dates back to 2019 when CBS Sports reported that Bezos had expressed interest in becoming an owner in the league. Sources told the outlet that Bezos “has strong support within the league to eventually join their ranks,” but at the time, no teams were for sale.

Report: Dan Snyder is selling the entire franchise; sale could be for $7 billion and get done within 6 months

Not to get entirely too far down the road, but Jay-Z had to sell his Nets stake bc he launched Roc Nation Sports. Not sure how that would play out in an NFL ownership bid but Roc Nation reps a bunch of NFL players, including Saquon, Bradley Chubb, others

Here’s my resume to all
@NFL
teams looking for a HC this off-season:16 yr NFL vet, 256 consecutive games played, 0 games missed, All-Pro, HOF nominee, Commanders Ring of Fame, Commanders radio color analyst, Volunteer Middle School defensive coordinator at Charlotte Latin School

According to the release, the office of the attorney general will also hold a follow-up press event for reporters later that afternoon.

On Wednesday, Washington DC attorney general Karl Racine announced a press conference for Thursday where he would reveal a “major announcement” related to the Washington Commanders.

Later Wednesday evening, the Commanders responded via a team spokesperson:

Less than three months ago, a 23-year-old player on our team was shot multiple times, in broad daylight. Despite the out-of-control violent crime in DC, today the Washington Commanders learned for the first time on Twitter that the D.C. Attorney General will be holding a press conference to ‘make a major announcement’ related to the organization tomorrow.

The Commanders have fully cooperated with the AG’s investigation for nearly a year. As recently as Monday, a lawyer for the team met with the AG who did not suggest at that time that he intended to take any action and, in fact, revealed fundamental misunderstandings of the underlying facts. It is unfortunate that, in his final days in office, Mr. Racine appears more interested in making splashy headlines, based on offbeat legal theories, rather than doing the hard work of making the streets safe for our citizens, including bringing to justice the people who shot one of our players.

Unbelievably, in response to Racine’s announcement on Thursday, Washington used rookie running back Brian Robinson’s shooting from Aug. 28 in their statement. It would have been fine if Washington’s spokesperson had left the first paragraph out of its statement.

Just another black eye for the organization that just can’t seem to get out of its own way.

Another day, another potential name entered the bidding for the Washington Commanders.

Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club owner John Henry is viewed as a possible bidder for the Washington Commanders, according to Josh Kosman of the New York Post.

Henry’s Fenway Sports Group recently hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to help sell Liverpool. That deal could bring between $4 and $5 billion in return for Henry.

Per the Post, Henry could already have a deal to sell Liverpool to an “unnamed Qatar-based investor.”

If Henry can close that deal, that would give him the capital to be a serious bidder for the Commanders, particularly if Jeff Bezos and Jay-Z are involved in the bidding process.

The Commanders could fetch anywhere from $5.6 billion to $8 billion.

Henry is also involved in NASCAR and is listed as the owner of the No. 17 car driven by Chris Buescher.

Henry, a self-made businessman and investor bought the Red Sox in 2002. Boston has enjoyed unprecedented success under Henry’s ownership. After famously not winning a World Series since 1918, the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and have won a total of four in Henry’s 20 years of ownership. Before he owned the Red Sox, Henry briefly owned the then-Florida Marlins.

Henry also owns multiple newspapers.

Henry is a longtime successful sports owner with a history of success. That’s something Washington fans have dreamt about for 23 years.

There has been a lot of speculation about what’s going to be announced today, but it is almost guaranteed that it will not end in Dan Snyder being perp-walked out of Commanders headquarters any time soon. The AG of Washington, D.C. has limited powers, and won’t be bringing criminal charges against Snyder, or any of the executives involved in his alleged financial improprieties.

The likely outcome of today’s announcement will be Karl Racine’s office will be a civil suit filed under the Consumer Protection Procedures Act. His office has the jurisdiction to investigate companies that make false, misleading, and deceptive comments to District consumers.