Would Jeff Bezos sell The Washington Post to buy a football team?

The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, plans to sell the Washington Post newspaper to buy the Washington Commanders football team, which competes in the National Football League (NFL), the New York Post reports Monday, citing its sources.

The article published by the aforementioned medium indicates that the big problem Bezos faces to acquire the football team is that the current owner, Dan Snyder, is still upset by publications made by the Washington Post where he exposed the toxic culture in the team.

However, a spokesman for the businessman stated that the newspaper is not for sale.

A New York Post source said a suitor believes the paper is for sale and plans to buy it. Another source also claimed to have heard information about the sale.

Current Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is reportedly still possibly offended by a  2020 Washington Post article in which the newspaper noted that women employed by the US team had been subjected to years of sexual harassment. 

In this context, the New York Post highlighted that some people even believe that Bezos had encouraged the publication of the results of the newspaper's investigation to provoke the sale of the team.

Interest in buying an NFL team

The Amazon founder's interest in buying an NFL team dates back to at least 2019 when CBS Sports reported that he had expressed his desire. Sources told the outlet at the time that Bezos "has strong support within the league to eventually join his ranks," but there were no teams for sale at the time.

Now, however, the Snyders are considering selling the Commanders and "have retained BofA Securities to consider potential transactions." According to The Wall Street Journal, hiring a bank is a common first step in the team-selling process.

In this story it is also known that Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York, would be interested in buying the Wall Street Journal or The Washington Post.

A Bloomberg spokesman said weeks ago, “There have been no discussions with anyone or any organization about an acquisition. The company has no interest in acquiring either.”

According to the New York Post, a Bezos spokesperson said the Washington Post is not for sale. A spokesman for the Journal, whose owner News Corp, said the paper is not for sale.

Offers for Commanders

Beyond their sporting exploits, which are clearly not the best, the Commanders appear as the sixth most valuable franchise in MLS. This is because teams in large “markets” (ie, large cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington) are often worth more, regardless of their sporting results.

Last week, reports emerged that the Commanders accepted first-round offers from potential buyers and that Bezos, who has reportedly been in talks with rapper Jay-Z to team up for a purchase, was not among them.

Bezos, amid this wave of speculation, has remained mum on the subject. His only nod was given in an interview with CNN last November, in which he assured that soccer is his "favourite sport." His girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, also chimed in: “I like soccer, I'm just going to throw that around.

“Not only have I been told that Bezos did not make an offer, but I have been told by some people that the Snyder family has no interest in selling Bezos to them,” tweeted sportswriter JP Finlay, who covers the Commanders for NBC Sports. That was in response to reports that the highest first-round offer was $6.3 billion, short of the $7 billion more than Snyder is reportedly seeking.

That was also after an anonymous source told NBC Sports' Peter King in November: “It will never happen. Daniel Snyder hates The Washington Post. No way would I sell it to the owner of that newspaper.”

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