Mod Notice: Temp Ban if Post on Changing the Name. Per New York Times: Dan Syder Agrees to Sell Washingon Commaders for $6B

[slinky]

[Spearfeather]

11 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

And Gibbs is royalty to the older fanbase like myself. Having him involved at all will only help build the fanbase back up.

 

I think the best part of Gibbs statement is where he talks about re-connecting the franchise with the fans and alumni.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

[slinky]

[BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen]

1 minute ago, Spearfeather said:

 

I think the best part of Gibbs statement is where he talks about re-connecting the franchise with the fans and alumni.

If only he'd said that when Snyder was still running the team.

[petey hodge]

[Skinsinparadise]

 

[NewCliche21]

You know who I really wanna hear from?  Frank Herzog.  I want HIS voice on this. I still can't ****ing believe this

[Skinsinparadise]

 

[slinky]

[hail2skins]

18 minutes ago, BringMetheHeadofBruceAllen said:

If only he'd said that when Snyder was still running the team.

Of course the recent buffoonery with the championship years on the crest and the error-ridden stuff of the 90 Greatest is still fresh in minds, but I distinctly remember Doc Walker on the air in the mid-to-late 90s grousing about how the alumni was being neglected, long before Snyder had taken control.

 

The Gibbs statement supporting Harris was basically harmless, and nothing wrong at all with him reaching out to Josh. But on a day where we are just happy to be rid of Dan and replaced with literally anyone else, I just personally don't feel the need to hear another instance of Gibbs validating a major organizational move.

[KDawg]

1 minute ago, hail2skins said:

Of course the recent buffoonery with the championship years on the crest and the error-ridden stuff of the 90 Greatest is still fresh in minds, but I distinctly remember Doc Walker on the air in the mid-to-late 90s grousing about how the alumni was being neglected, long before Snyder had taken control.

 

The Gibbs statement supporting Harris was basically harmless, and nothing wrong at all with him reaching out to Josh. But on a day where we are just happy to be rid of Dan and replaced with literally anyone else, I just personally don't feel the need to hear another instance of Gibbs validating a major organizational move.

Okay… but again… Gibbs won three Lombardi trophies for this franchise. Every other coach combined has zero Lombardi’s. (Yes we have world championships but they are different).

 

So, Gibbs has earned the ol, “say whatever you want whenever you want, Coach” pass with me.

 

I wish more had the same thought. Legends shouldn’t ever be meant to feel unwelcome. He is the epitome of being a part of this franchise. He’s the milestone. 
 

Let’s not be bitter about Gibbs joining in the congrats. You’re allowed to not care, you’re allowed to even say it. But it just comes across in a weird way.

[RVAskins]

What once was, can be again.

 

[Skinsinparadise]

Josh Harris has a signed, exclusive deal with Daniel Snyder for Commanders

By Mark Maske

 and 

Nicki Jhabvala

 

A group of investors led by Josh Harris completed a signed agreement Friday to purchase the Washington Commanders from Daniel Snyder. The agreement gives Harris and his partners an exclusivity window to attempt to have the $6.05 billion deal approved by the NFL finance committee and ratified by the league’s team owners.

 

 

“We look forward to the formal approval of our ownership by the NFL in the months ahead and to having the honor to serve as responsible and accountable stewards of the Commanders franchise moving forward,” Harris said in a statement.

The two sides jointly announced they have “entered into a purchase and sale agreement.” Three people familiar with the deal confirmed the agreement is signed and exclusive.

 

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the Commanders franchise with Josh Harris, an area native, and his impressive group of partners,” Snyder and his wife Tanya, the team’s co-CEO, said in a statement. “We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”

 

The sale ultimately must be approved by at least 24 of the 32 NFL team owners, following a recommendation by the eight-owner finance committee. The prospective final ratification vote of the owners would be taken “in the coming months,” a person familiar with the league’s inner workings said Friday. The owners are expected to be updated on the Commanders sale at their meeting scheduled for May 22-23 in Minneapolis, according to that person.

“League staff and the finance committee will review details of the proposed Washington transaction,” the NFL said in a statement.

 

The Harris group’s deal with Snyder previously had been unsigned and nonexclusive, leaving the process open to other potential bidders. That tentative deal still had been sent to the NFL for an informal review, a departure from the league’s normal approval process.

 

After reviewing the deal Wednesday during a meeting at the NFL’s offices in New York, members of the finance committee raised issues that could keep the sale from being put to a ratification vote at the meeting this month in Minneapolis, according to three people familiar with the league’s inner workings and the owners’ views.

NFL finance committee has concerns about Josh Harris’s Commanders deal

Harris’s group apparently would have to pay a “breakup fee” if the deal is not finalized. The amount of the fee and the length of the exclusivity period were not immediately clear. The agreement was signed Friday afternoon, according to a person familiar with the sales process.

 

“On behalf of our entire ownership group … I want to express how excited we are to be considered by the NFL to be the next owners of the Washington Commanders and how committed we are to delivering a championship-caliber franchise for this city and its fan base,” Harris said in his statement. “Growing up in Chevy Chase, I experienced firsthand the excitement around the team, including its three Super Bowl victories and long-term winning culture.”

 

...Harris’s group includes Potomac, Md., billionaire businessman and philanthropist Mitchell Rales and NBA great Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Rales is the co-founder of the Danaher Corporation. Other investors who have been identified more recently include Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Google; Alejandro Santo Domingo, the billionaire heir to a family beer fortune; and Mitchell Morgan, the founder and CEO of Pennsylvania-based Morgan Properties.

“I could not be more excited to be a partner in the proposed new ownership group for the Washington Commanders,” Johnson wrote Friday on Twitter. “Josh Harris has assembled an amazing group who share a commitment to not only doing great things on the field but to making a real impact in the DMV community. I’m so excited to get to work on executing our vision for the Commanders and our loyal fan base!”

 

Harris said in his statement Friday that the group’s investors also include Mark Ein, a venture capitalist and Washington-area native who is a longtime friend of Harris and assumed management and operation of D.C.’s Citi Open tennis tournament in 2019; David Blitzer, Harris’s partner in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment; Lee Ainslie, an investor and hedge fund manager who founded Maverick Capital; Eric Holoman, the operating partner of Magic Johnson Enterprises and the managing partner of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks; Michael Li, the owner of Range Group; Michael Sapir, the co-founder and CEO of ProShares; and Andy Snyder, the CEO of the investment firm Cambridge Information Group and the chairman of the analytics company Clarivate.

 

 

“Together these individuals and families have the collective resources and shared commitment to support our vision for the Commanders,” Harris said. “We look forward to running a world-class organization and making significant investments on and off the field to achieve excellence and have a lasting and positive impact on the community.”

Ein wrote on Twitter: “Can’t wait to help make the team as beloved throughout our DMV community as it was when [I] had my best childhood memories going to games with my dad as a little boy.”

Joe Gibbs, the franchise’s former three-time Super Bowl-winning coach, is not an investor in the group but served as an unofficial adviser to Harris during the process.

 

“I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Josh Harris and the leadership team during this process and fully support his efforts to lead the new ownership group of the Commanders,” Gibbs said in a statement Friday. “The NFL has grown a great deal since my time as a coach in this League, but what hasn’t changed is my belief that with great leadership from the top, the drive to win on the field and a commitment to culture — championship teams are created. Josh and his team share these values and I am committed to doing what I can to reconnect this great franchise to the community, fan base, and alumni.”

 

Forbes estimated the value of the Commanders at $5.6 billion last year. The record sale price for an NFL franchise is the $4.65 billion that a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton paid last year to buy the Denver Broncos from the Pat Bowlen Trust.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/05/12/josh-harris-dan-snyder-commanders-deal/

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

 

 

[CRobi21]

1 hour ago, Conn said:

Comm Meme

 

That meme is the only good thing that has come with the Commanders name! It gets me every time I see it.

 

[NewCliche21]

21 minutes ago, KDawg said:

Okay… but again… Gibbs won three Lombardi trophies for this franchise. Every other coach combined has zero Lombardi’s. (Yes we have world championships but they are different).

 

So, Gibbs has earned the ol, “say whatever you want whenever you want, Coach” pass with me.

 

I wish more had the same thought. Legends shouldn’t ever be meant to feel unwelcome. He is the epitome of being a part of this franchise. He’s the milestone. 
 

Let’s not be bitter about Gibbs joining in the congrats. You’re allowed to not care, you’re allowed to even say it. But it just comes across in a weird way.

 

Yeah, I have a very hard time not wanting to hear what Gibbs has to say on anything regarding this team. He is every single thing good about this team, about football, all packed into one humble, gracious person who fights his guts out.

He will never not be relevant, and he will always hold the conch shell. He's earned it, he deserves it, and that will never change.  Joe Gibbs is the personification of the good parts of this team.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

 

[Skinsinparadise]

Keim

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/36179498/top-priorities-new-owners-dan-snyder-sells-washington-commanders

Build a stadium

The Washington franchise has been looking for a new stadium site for several years in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, increasing the intensity of the pursuit over the past two years, in particular. For new owners, a stadium would help boost the franchise value and, therefore, give them a return on their investment.

"It would increase it dramatically," said Marc Ganis, a sports marketing expert and president of SportsCorp Ltd., a sports financing consulting firm. "It would also be a new start for the team, which they really do need."

A stadium would have been a boon for Snyder too.

Among the places considered: next door to the Commanders' current site; 15 miles away in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on federal land and across from the MGM Casino and National Harbor area; their old home where RFK Stadium still needs to be torn down; and multiple sites in Virginia, including one approximately 10 miles from their current practice facility.

 

Multiple sources said Snyder was a hindrance in these talks, that numerous politicians did not want to do business with him or the team until the investigations ended.

"The owner definitely made it a nonstarter," said one person with knowledge of the discussions in Maryland.

The same source said the hard part for a while was not knowing whom to deal with from the franchise; until perhaps within the last year, it could be one of three different groups within the organization, including Snyder. Eventually, it was Wright and vice president of public affairs Joe Maloney. Nonetheless, the source contrasted that with the Baltimore Ravens, who used the same person when talking about stadium issues or needs.

Under Snyder, Washington wanted to move into a new stadium by the 2028 season. The current contract at FedEx Field ends early in the 2027 season, although it can be renewed to extend the stay.

 

Former owner Jack Kent Cooke paid for FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, with his own money, but it was a poor sequel to RFK Stadium, the team's home until 1997. RFK Stadium, which was in bad shape when the team left, was considered more intimate, with a seating capacity of 56,692 as compared with FedEx Field's 78,270, which eventually grew to 90,000. RFK Stadium was accessible by the Washington Metro system; the closest such stop to FedEx Field is approximately a mile away. And because the main way to access FedEx Field is off Interstate 495, traffic congestion was an early issue for fans.

Current executives say the organization did not invest enough in maintaining FedEx Field, leading to failing pipes -- which sometimes doused fans with water -- and other problems. Players have complained there is no place to meet with their families after games and no day care for their kids -- as other franchises offer on game day.

 

In August, USA Today ranked FedEx Field as the NFL's worst stadium.

"A new venue changes the fortune of a franchise," Wright said, "in the revenue growth but also in the fan experience. We definitely have to have the vision of a new ownership team. However, all the research and work done to date is additive; it's not wasted. It's all beneficial and will allow us to move quickly."

The new owners must determine where they want to build: D.C., Maryland or Virginia. The RFK Stadium site remains a fan favorite. Three Super Bowl winners played at RFK Stadium, enabling fans to maintain a connection to the past. A source familiar with the stadium talks said people who represent Harris' group have reached out to local politicians to assess the situation.

 

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said multiple times over the past year -- and beyond -- that she wants the team back in the city. In the fall, she told reporters that ownership, meaning Snyder, was an obstacle.

However, because that land is owned by the federal government, it would first have to either sell or lease the land to the District of Columbia. Then the D.C. Council would have to approve any plans. Another fear by some team officials is that some D.C. residents would oppose a stadium because they don't want it publicly financed, have a desire for different projects and worry about increased traffic.

With Snyder, those involved in the talks say, the team had no chance to build at the RFK Stadium site. But even without him, they say it will be difficult.

"You have to let [the fans] know you tried everything in the District," one person involved in the situation said. "They still have to do the work; they owe it to the fans."

 

It's possible, one person involved in the stadium talks said, that the new venue could be located in one state -- or district -- with the practice facility remaining in Virginia, whether near the current one in Loudoun County or elsewhere.

The Commanders' practice facility, built in 1992, is considered outdated, in part because it is small and would be expensive to expand.

In May 2022, the organization acquired the rights to purchase 200 acres of property in Virginia's Prince William County; but multiple sources say if the team builds a stadium in Virginia, it would be in Loudoun, a growing county that has the nation's highest per-household income.

Maryland also has options, including the Commanders' current stadium site in Landover. The state has committed $400 million to redevelop the area around FedEx Field. Another site that has been mentioned sits on federal government land.

Matt Rogers, chief of staff for Loudoun County Supervisor Phyllis Randall, said "there's no question" having Snyder out of the picture will help the process.

"There is a spring of opportunity," he said. "We needed to have a clean slate here. We would have been further along had this not been the case for some time."

---

 

Establish a philosophy

When Snyder took over in 1999, he established an immediate tone to his ownership style by firing dozens of employees within a couple of months and, one former member of the organization said, imploring the front office to chase big-name players, whether it was realistic or not. As one former employee said early in Snyder's tenure, his group operated under a "fire, aim, ready" philosophy.

"He was a fan," the former team employee said. "I would think a guy [Harris] who owns the Sixers and Devils would be smarter than that. Dan had a million people in his ear, and he didn't know who to believe. A guy that's been an owner? That won't be a problem."

 

Others who know Snyder well say he also hired, and trusted, the wrong people. Both things set the tone for his tenure as owner.

That's why the first priority for Harris, if the deal indeed goes through, would be to establish a tone to set the organization up for success. One former member of the front office said the Commanders need to have a clear philosophy when it comes to the organizational structure, something the source said it lacked under Snyder.

 

Harris said in a 2015 article in Bethesda Magazine, "Your most important hire as an owner is your general manager and then your coach." In a later interview with NJ.com after buying the Devils, Harris said it was important to "provide the resources and hold them accountable."

Harris doesn't have the reputation of a big meddler, another label Snyder wore throughout his tenure. Also, Snyder has gone a long time without taking questions at a news conference; he answered some questions at a 2014 ceremony. Harris, meanwhile, has typically addressed the media a couple of times a year, with other periodic interviews during a season.

 

"It's picking the right people and developing a team," former Washington coach Joe Gibbs told ESPN when asked what makes a successful coach and owner. "That doesn't change."

It's what helped Washington be successful under Cooke, who oversaw three Super Bowl champions. Many employees were entrenched in the organization for decades.

 

One former Washington assistant coach said when his staff started, the members were struck by the unhappiness of many in the building. Scouts valued by the franchise left because of the low pay. Multiple team sources over the past several years said internal surveys conducted by teams showed Washington's support staff workers ranked at or near the bottom of the pay scale as compared with other teams, despite being in an expensive market. In January, Consumer Affairs ranked Washington, D.C, as the seventh-most expensive place to live in the United States, based on housing costs. Multiple D.C. suburbs in Virginia and Maryland have been on previous lists.

The malaise wasn't just about Snyder. Bruce Allen, the team president from 2010 to 2019, was described as "stingy" by a former front-office employee.

That has improved over the past three years, current employees say, but more work remains.

"The first thing is understanding what we need to do to fuel a championship," Wright said. "It has to be about winning. The best thing for us to do is listen to ownership, understand why they bought the team, what is their aspiration for this, so we can align the way we work."

 

Find a quarterback

Washington's staff has expressed excitement about quarterback Sam Howell starting in 2023, but the Commanders haven't shut the door on drafting a signal-caller. Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker is scheduled for a visit.

Maybe Howell will be the guy. The Commanders would celebrate if that happened. But he is a fifth-round pick who has attempted 19 career NFL passes. There's a lot to learn. This season will dictate whether he can be the solution. If not, they have to keep trying until they get it right.

 

A big part of Washington's problems over the past 25 years, predating Snyder, stems from the quarterback. The franchise has started 34 quarterbacks since it last won the Super Bowl at the conclusion of its 1991 campaign. In Rivera's first three seasons, eight quarterbacks started at least one game. A different quarterback has started each of the past five season openers. This year will make it six.

 

The team has drafted four quarterbacks in the first round since 2002: Patrick Ramsey (2002), Jason Campbell (2005), Griffin (2012) and Dwayne Haskins (2019). None became the long-term starter. The Commanders have traded for veterans such as Mark Brunell, Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith and Carson Wentz. None was the answer.

Washington ranks 24th in the NFL in total QBR since 2000, 29th over the past 10 years and 31st over the past five seasons.

Too often, according to multiple former and current team sources, Snyder inserted himself into quarterback decisions. Whether pushing for a trade, free agent signing or draft pick, his fingerprints were often on the moves -- sometimes going against the recommendations of football decision-makers.

 

"The owner needs to immediately sort of communicate, 'I'm not the football person here. I will hire the best possible people and give them total autonomy to build a winner for all of you and me,'" Sheehan said.

In part because that didn't happen in the past, Washington's quest for a quarterback hasn't ended. During the fall, Rivera caused a minor firestorm when asked the difference between the Commanders and other teams in the division. He answered with one word: quarterback. He meant that the other teams had more stable quarterback situations.

 

If the Commanders ever find that, it would help any new owner.

"The truth is, this is a quarterback-driven league," Rivera said in October. "The teams that have been able to sustain success, they've been able to build it around a specific quarterback."

[88Comrade2000]

3 hours ago, SoCalSkins said:

Good to see Magic already making statements. He’s not going to be a silent partner. I love that guy. 

  Use him and Rales to work with local governments to get the new stadium. Use Magic for community outreach.  Keep him away from football side, hire the appropriate people for that.

[goskins10]

 

Best day in a long time! Good ****ing riddence! I can start gonig to games again!  Will ook at this years schedule 

 

 

 

 

 

BTW: Anyone in Atlanta for Oct 15th, @skinsmarydu, me and a few othres are gonig to the game!  PM me if you are also interested! Would be great to show out here. Some of you can even come to root for he who must not be named (or is it redacted - well you know who I mean..._). But beware, laughing will be encouraged! 

Edited May 13, 2023 by goskins10

[DazedSkinsfan]

7 hours ago, LetThePointsSoar said:

We've apparently now had 4 holding calls, 2 false starts and a delay of game. 

 

Fourth and goal from our own 37 yard line, kids. 

Just as we were about to throw the remote through the TV and say a bunch of rude things to the wife that would put us in the doghouse for a week, Howell throws a beauty to Scary Terry in the corner of the endzone for the game winning touchdown!!!!!! All that's left now is the victory parade 

[profusion]

Is it wrong that I'm still just a little worried about the league vote?

 

Otherwise, this is a day that I never thought I'd live to see.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[mh86]

It may be the alcohol talking, but I love you all. Hail.