12/21/24
February 23, 2021
Jeff Bezos Looking at Buying Washington Football Team: Jeff Bezos is interested in becoming owner of Washington Football Team, according to documents obtained by Front Office Sports, a business news site covering sports. The documents indicate that Bezos' attorney spoke to an investment bank leading an effort to sell a chunk of the team and urge Dan Snyder to sell.
The problem is that the influential NFC East owners Mara, Tisch, Lurie and Jerry Jones love having Snyder's ineptitude in their division, which is by far the most highly valued in the NFL. They can count on Snyder to consistently make bad decisions which put his team at a disadvantage. Even if he does get fortunate now and then and land a good coach, make some good draft choices, design great new uniforms, and bask in the feelgood glow of Alex Smith (and Taylor Heinicke).
They've got a good thing going. Even though Snyder is predisposed to running his franchise into the ground, its valuation has grown at an astronomical rate, which upholds the value of their franchises.
If Snyder doesn't want to sell, Goodell won't force him to sell until the stink gets too overpowering to disregard. Just being the Dan Snyder he's been up to now as far as the public record is concerned hasn't been bad enough to jolt Goodell into action.
One of two things has to happen for Snyder to be forced out. Either he has to somehow begin negatively affecting the valuation of the other NFC East franchises or his presence has to create a situation that tarnishes the Shield to a point that Goodell can't tolerate.
If Bezos buys in, the Washington team is immediately at an operational advantage, as Mara is decidedly stodgy and old fashioned, Lurie and Howie Roseman are in the midst of wrecking the Eagles roster for the foreseeable future, and Jerry Jones has been a front office nightmare for generations.
Goodell should take notice that the mediocrity of the NFC East could continue for several seasons to come. This is not good for the league. Someone in the division needs to be competitive. That team could easily be Washington, and why shouldn't it be if the tumorous Snyder is excised?
Washington is also the NFC East team most in need of a new stadium and Bezos could write a check for a new stadium on the spot.
posted by beaverboard at 04:12 PM on February 23, 2021
Jerry Jones isn't a front-office nightmare any more. But he's not particularly good either. He's had the Cowboys slightly above mediocrity for years, and every three years they're a preseason Super Bowl favorite. Which is something I guess.
posted by rcade at 04:24 PM on February 23, 2021
OK beavy, you got me convinced. Did you hear the recent story of the Lions petitioning the league to move over to the NFC East? It got rejected on the joint statement of the East teams' owners: "Even *we* have standards!"
posted by NoMich at 04:40 PM on February 23, 2021
bask in the feelgood glow
Apparently, WFT were not that excited about the possible glow according to Smith himself.
posted by billsaysthis at 06:59 PM on February 23, 2021
If Jeff Bezos were to acquire the WFT, it would not take long before some sports talking head made the connection to Bezos's major line of business, Amazon. There might be a movement toward renaming the team "Amazons". In the Greek mythology , Amazon's were fierce and courageous warriors; this is not a bad image for a football team. The little detail that works against the idea is that Amazons were all female. I'm pretty sure that the average NFL player would not want to be identified as a fierce and courageous female.
Perhaps Jeff Bezos's "competitor" for the wealthiest man in the US, Elon Musk, would be interested in buying the team. He might immediately start lobbying for the replacement of human players with robots. Could be interesting...
posted by Howard_T at 01:53 PM on February 24, 2021
according to Smith himself.
I didn't know that Smith had suffered from necrotizing fasciitis. About 15 years ago I had an insect bite become infected, and it turned into necrotizing fasciitis. At one point the doctor told my wife that if they didn't get it under control within 2 days, they would amputate my left arm, and if that didn't get it, start the funeral arrangements. My left wrist is now noticeably smaller than my right, and I have limited range of motion there.
posted by Howard_T at 02:10 PM on February 24, 2021
Hopefully, Elon Musk will train his attention on the NBA to keep things thematic. Perhaps buy a stake in the Houston Rockets or lead a campaign to re-establish a SuperSonics team to Seattle.
posted by beaverboard at 04:22 PM on February 24, 2021
If Amazons doesn't get traction, Bezos could name the team after another of his properties, the Washington Posts.
posted by bender at 02:29 PM on February 25, 2021
The latest valuation of this particular team is ~$3.5 billion. That's chump change to Bezos. Why doesn't he just offer up $5 billion in couch cushion change and be done with it?