Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon, may make a bid for the Washington Commanders NFL team in a deal that would make him the league’s richest owner.
The franchise’s potential sale is in its early stages, but could also involve music mogul Jay-Z as an investor, an anonymous source told the Washington Post, which Bezos also owns.
“I don’t know if they will partner on it,” the source said, adding they are both “interested.”
The deal would make Bezos, estimated to be the world’s fourth-richest person at $113.2 billion, the league’s wealthiest owner. Currently the richest is Denver Broncos owner Rob Walton, a Wal-Mart heir valued at $59.2 billion, the Post reported.
“Owning an NFL team is the ultimate trophy,” former D.C. Council member Jack Evans told the Post. “More so than a baseball team, more so than anything else for those who have that kind of money.”
Jay-Z, valued by Forbes at $1.3 billion, is a rapper and founder of entertainment conglomerate Roc Nation, which has co-produced the NFL’s Super Bowl halftime show since 2020.
Bezos also has pre-existing business ties to the NFL, as Amazon carries the league’s “Thursday Night Football” package, the Post reported.
TMZ reported that Bezos and Jay-Z ate together at Los Angeles restaurant for more than two hours this week.
The Commanders, known until 2020 as the Redskins, are currently co-owned by Dan Snyder and his wife, Tanya.
Snyder has enlisted Bank of America’s help in selling the team, Forbes reported, amid multiple investigations – by the NFL, Congress, and two attorneys general – into allegations of workplace sexual harassment, retaliation against whistleblowers, and ticket fraud, as reported by the New York Times.
CBS News reported in 2019 that Bezos was interested in buying an NFL team, had strong support within the league and was cozying up to Snyder, who was declared the league’s “most hated owner” in 2015 by Sports Illustrated.
Bezos has also solidified his presence in D.C. in recent years, acquiring its premiere newspaper, bringing an Amazon headquarters to its metro area, and buying a $23 million mansion in the city.
