Are the Washington Commanders being sold?

Washington Commanders owners Dan and Tanya Snyder hired the Bank of America last month to explore the possibility of selling part or all of the team, and the investment institution is making progress with the process, according to The Washington Post.

The bank will be moving on to the next step of providing details of a possible sale to prospective buyers, if these parties agree to keep the information under wraps. There are certain rules on confidentiality they need to follow if the purchase process is to move along.

This stage of the plan will determine how serious potential bidders are in acquiring the team.

According to the Post, the Snyders are leaning towards selling the whole team. After they find a buyer, they must get the approval of at least three-fourths of the other team owners in the league for the sale to go through.

Commanders’ ‘culture of fear’

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform conducted an investigation into both Snyder and the Commanders organization for allegations of workplace misconduct and illegal financial transactions, and the report stated that sexual harassment and other kinds of toxic behavior “were perpetuated by a culture of fear instilled by the team’s owner”.

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High price tag

According to Forbes magazine, the Washington Commanders are valued at $5.6 billion, which is number six among all NFL franchises. If the Snyders manage to sell it at this price, it will be way beyond the record set earlier this year, when the Walton-Penner group of the Walmart empire bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion, the biggest amount ever paid for a sports franchise in North America.

Even if the price tag of the team would turn out to be a bit lower than its valuation, it would still be a far cry from the $750 million that the Snyders paid to become its owners.