Billionaire Jeff Bezos has reportedly hired the investment firm Allen & Company to explore a bid on the Washington Commanders.
Bezos, who owns the Washington Post and founded Amazon, has been seen as one of the top potential buyers for the team and has now taken a step toward making an offer, per various reports.
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The investment firm Bezos has reportedly hired was involved in the 2022 sale of the Denver Broncos and the 2018 sale of the Carolina Panthers. Bezos has not made a bid for the team, but among the "half-dozen" bids submitted to Bank of America for ownership of the team, none of them exceeded $6.3 billion, per Front Office Sports.
Current team owner Dan Snyder reportedly has said he has no interest in selling to Bezos because "he detests the Washington Post," per NBC Sports's Peter King.
The team has been publicly exploring a sale since November 2022, when Snyder hired Bank of America to "consider potential transactions" regarding ownership.
Recent reports suggest the Commanders are aiming to get a sale done within the next few weeks before the annual league owners meeting, which is currently scheduled for March 26-29 in Phoenix, Arizona. A sale of the team would require three-fourths of teams in the league, 24 of the 32, to approve the selected bid.
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A potential buyer of the Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris, visited the team's facilities in Ashburn, Virginia, earlier this month. Harris has reportedly placed a bid for the team, but the details of the offer are unknown. He attempted to buy the Denver Broncos last year but was outbid by Walmart heir Rob Walton.
The league has not forced the sale of the Commanders but has increasingly pressured owner Dan Snyder to make changes to the team in recent years. In 2020, Snyder announced the team would retire the "Redskins" name, opting to be called the "Washington Football Team" for the 2020 and 2021 seasons before rebranding as the "Commanders" in 2022.