Commanders sale: What’s next after two groups submit bids, including timetable, decision-making process, more

PHOENIX — Dan Snyder will soon have $6 billion and a reputation worth $6.

The Washington Commanders will soon be sold to a new owner, and sources say Snyder could land on who he’s picking within one to three weeks.

Multiple sources tell CBS Sports there are as many as four bidders at this point for the team. Josh Harris and Steve Apostolopoulos have agreed to reach the magical $6 billion mark, according to ESPN, and Tilman Fertitta remains in the mix, though he has yet to make an official tour of the team facilities.

Sources also say there’s a mystery fourth bidder, but there are no further details on who it could be.

NFL team owners and executives here at the NFL league meetings have been encouraged to not speak out on Snyder in the media. Colts owner Jim Irsay surprised the league with his October comments when he said there was “merit” to consider removing Snyder, but he’s backed off the strong language in interviews since.

That’s because everyone just wants this done. Snyder wants to sell. His fellow owners want him to sell. The league office wants him to sell. Commanders fans want new ownership. There’s little reason to poke the bear at this point, weeks from a resolution.

“The briefing [from the NFL] was, when we get something we’ll let you know,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at the conclusion of the meetings.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank told a small group of reporters he believed Snyder had moved to London, and reports had he and his wife Tanya change their legal residence earlier this year. His son, Gerry, no longer appears on the Appalachian State football roster, and a school spokesperson confirmed he is not enrolled at the university this semester. Snyder has one D.C.-area estate for sale on the market and has cleared out ownership offices.

“The league is doing whatever it can to help support the Snyders in this transaction and transition,” Blank said. “I saw Tanya this morning and wished her well, Dan as well. I think their family has moved to London, I believe. We’ll see what will happen. He’s a young man, his children are young, his wife’s young and they have a whole life ahead of them. I certainly wish them well.”

What’s more, there was never a true appetite from NFL team owners to vote out Snyder. That was always considered a nuclear option, but team owners had the patience to wait on what is now happening to ultimately take place.

The Mary Jo White investigation into Snyder continues, and a source confirmed a report from The Washington Post that Snyder has yet to consent to an interview with White. Sources across the league believe this is how things will play out: Snyder won’t do the interview, the investigation’s findings without Snyder defending himself will be publicly released, and he’ll lives overseas and out of the public eye for some time.

To whom Snyder sells the team is the biggest remaining question. Bidders have raced to get the cash needed for what will be the largest team purchase in NFL history, and it seems Harris and Apostolopoulos got there first. But crossing that finish line doesn’t win any race.

Fertitta and the mystery bidder could also meet the $6 billion threshold and leak it. But there’s an art to what sources have said doesn’t necessarily have to be an auction.

Snyder doesn’t have to sell to the highest bidder. He can sell to the group he likes the most. And because of how quiet he’s been regarding this sale — remember, the Commanders still have not confirmed the team is actually for sale — he may not care much for how leaky some of the groups have been.

The groups have an interesting collection of people in them. Basketball legend Magic Johnson is part of Harris’ group to buy the Commanders, a spokesperson for Johnson told CBS Sports in March. Johnson had previously been part of Harris’ group in a bid to buy the Denver Broncos, which ultimately went to the Walton-Penner group in 2021.

There are significant financial hurdles for a prospective NFL owner to clear. According to NFL rules, a controlling owner must be able to fund 30% of the purchase price. If the Commanders are sold for $6 billion, that would mean writing a check for $1.8 billion.

Last year, the NFL made it an “important goal” for new owners to diversify their groups. Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, hardly needed to add anyone to his group in order to buy the Broncos at $4.65 billion. But the Walton-Penner group also includes Condoleezza Rice, Mellody Hobson and Lewis Hamilton.

“The NFL member clubs support the important goal of increasing diversity among ownership,” a league statement read in March 2022. “Accordingly, when evaluating a prospective ownership group of a member club pursuant to League policies, the membership will regard it as a positive and meaningful factor if the group includes diverse individuals who would have a significant equity stake in and involvement with the club, including serving as the controlling owner of the club.”

Last week, rumors swirled that Michael Jordan was part of one of these groups. A former minority owner of the Washington Wizards, Jordan is in talks to sell his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets.

Jump Management, Jordan’s Family office, shot down those rumors quickly in a statement to CBS Sports.

“Michael Jordan is not interested nor attached to any bids for the Washington Commanders.”

Harris owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, and he’s partnered with Johnson and billionaire Mitchell Rales in this bid. Former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III said on radio Tuesday he’s had conversations with Harris about joining the ownership group.

Apostolopoulos is the founder of the private equity fund Six Ventures Inc. and managing partner of a Toronto-based real-estate firm. It’s believed that his group includes others involved in Canadian real estate.

And Feritta owns the Houston Rockets after making his fortune in dining and entertainment. Just this week at the league meetings, NFL team owners went even deeper in their embrace of legalized sports gambling.

Once a bidder is selected, the league still has to approve that owner and the group, a process that will take months to complete before finally officially approving.