Commanders' Ron Rivera Talks 'Exciting' Sale of Franchise: 'It Will Mark a New Era'

Count head coach Ron Rivera among those who are looking forward to the impending sale of the Washington Commanders.

Speaking Saturday to ESPN's John Keim, Rivera said:

"[It's] as much relief of, 'OK, now we know what we're doing and where we're going.' It is exciting. It will mark a new era. It will change some things, but the biggest thing is the excitement of who we are as a team. ... The hard part for everybody is right now we're just waiting for it to happen so we'll see."

A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reported this week that the NFL is reportedly targeting May 22 as the date by which it would like Commanders owner Daniel Snyder to choose a buyer for the franchise.

Perez noted that the front-runner to purchase the Commanders is a group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils managing partner Josh Harris.

The group of Harris, businessman Mitchell Rales and Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson has reportedly submitted a $6 billion bid. The only other bidder is Canadian businessman Steve Apostolopoulos, who also bid $6 billion.

While there has been speculation regarding Amazon founder Jeff Bezos having interest in the Commanders, he has yet to submit a bid. Perez reported that Bezos will be given "every opportunity" to bid if he wants to, however.

If the Commanders sell for $6 billion or more, it will mark a record for a North American professional sports franchise. The current record is held by the Denver Broncos, who were sold to the Walton-Penner group for $4.65 billion last year.

In recent years, pressure has mounted on Snyder to sell the Commanders, whom he purchased for $800 million in 1999.

The NFL fined the Commanders $10 million in July 2021 after an investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson determined that a toxic work environment—which included bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment—had been created within the Commanders organization, particularly toward women.

Snyder surrendered control of team operations to his wife, Tanya, and he has largely been out of the public eye since then.

Multiple allegations of sexual misconduct have been levied against Snyder as well, creating even more incentive for the NFL to force a sale.

Snyder had a hand in hiring Rivera as the Commanders' new head coach in 2020 after the latter spent the previous nine seasons as head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

In three seasons with Washington, Rivera has gone 22-27-1. That includes an NFC East title and playoff appearance in 2020 despite the Commanders going just 7-9.

The Commanders finished 8-8-1 last season, which was their best record during Rivera's tenure.