Jeff Bezos Reportedly Hires Investment Firm to Evaluate Potential Commanders Bid

Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos has hired New York-based investment firm Allen & Company to evaluate a possible bid for the NFL's Washington Commanders, per Mark Maske, Nicki Jhabvala and Liz Clarke of the Washington Post.

The hiring appears to confirm Bezos' interest in placing a potential bid to purchase the Commanders from current owner Daniel Snyder, who bought the franchise in 1999 for $800 million.

Maske, Jhabvala and Clarke noted that the Amazon founder is at least interested in "conducting due diligence and potentially in moving forward in the process."

Snyder and his wife Tanya, Washington's co-CEO, announced in November that they had hired Bank of America Securities to consider potential transactions involving the Commanders.

At the time, Mike Ozanian of Forbes reported the two were "exploring all options and a transaction could be for the entire NFL team or a minority stake." Ozanian added that at least four groups had expressed interest in purchasing the team.

It's unclear whether the Snyders will sell the entire franchise, though the Washington Post reported in December that doing so was considered "the most likely outcome."

The Snyders aren't being forced to sell the Commanders, though there has been mounting pressure around the league for them to give up ownership amid a tenure that has been tarnished by a refusal to change the club's previous nickname, in addition to investigations into alleged workplace misconduct.

The Commanders are being investigated by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform for allegedly fostering a toxic workplace environment. The U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia is also investigating the franchise for alleged financial improprieties.

The NFL previously fined the Commanders $10 million and Daniel Snyder had to give up day-to-day operations for a few months after going through its own investigation of the franchise. The league is now conducting another investigation of the team led by attorney Mary Jo White.

According to the Washington Post, "several groups submitted initial bids to purchase the Commanders before a late-December target requested by Bank of America." However, Bezos was not included in that stage of the bidding.

Bezos' net worth is worth $119 billion, according to Forbes, and he'd likely be able to outbid other potential buyers.

Allen & Company also handled the sales of the Denver Broncos, which were sold to the Walton family in 2022 for $4.65 billion, and the Carolina Panthers, which were sold to David Tepper in 2018 for $2.275 billion.

Washington is valued at $5.6 billion, according to Forbes. Any sale of the Commanders would have to be approved by 24 of the NFL's 32 owners.