NFL Rumors: Commanders Sale Not on March Owners Meetings Agenda; Could Vote in May

The annual NFL owners meetings will take place in Arizona from Sunday through Wednesday, but the potential sale of the Washington Commanders is not on the agenda.

Per Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, "a vote or owner briefing" regarding the sale will not be discussed. Rather, the league's spring meeting in Minnesota from May 22 to 24 appears to be a more likely time and place for discussions regarding a potential approval.

As Kaplan noted, three owner groups are out in front to purchase the Commanders from Dan Snyder. One is led by Philadelphia 76ers managing partner and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris, who is flanked by billionaire Mitchell Rales and NBA legend and entrepreneur Magic Johnson.

Landry's, Inc. founder and Houston Rockets governor Tilman Fertitta is in the mix, and the same goes for Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos, who has reportedly toured the team facilities.

The potential sale comes as Snyder finds himself under fire from multiple directions, per Kaplan:

"Also outstanding are various investigations into the team and Snyder, including the league's own probe into an allegation that Snyder improperly made physical advances on a team employee and financial charges that the team hid revenue from other clubs. There is also a federal investigation in the Eastern District of Virginia into the team's accounting practices, and two Washington, D.C., lawsuits aimed at the team and league."

The NFL also notably asked independent counsel Beth Wilkinson to conduct an investigation into the team's workplace culture in 2020. Following a 10-month investigation, an NFL statement in July 2021 read in part:

"Based on Wilkinson's review, the Commissioner concluded that for many years the workplace environment at the Washington Football Team, both generally and particularly for women, was highly unprofessional. Bullying and intimidation frequently took place and many described the culture as one of fear, and numerous female employees reported having experienced sexual harassment and a general lack of respect in the workplace."

The NFL fined the franchise $10 million among other punishments.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk previously reported that Snyder and his wife, Tanya, cleared out of the team's Ashburn, Virginia, headquarters in late December. He also reported that a sale was "imminent."

Forbes gave the Commanders a $5.6 billion valuation (sixth-highest in the NFL) in an Aug. 2022 article.