In case anybody doubted whether Jeff Bezos was serious about his bid for the NFL's Washington Commanders, recent movements in New York should put that doubt to rest.
The Amazon (AMZN) founder and executive chairman, whose net worth is estimated at $119 billion, recently hired Allen & Co. to help him clear the next round of hurdles associated with buying the Washington-based National Football League team.
DON'T MISS: Jeff Bezos May Sell a Business to Buy the Washington Commanders
According to two people familiar with the matter, Bezos hired Allen & Co. to help advise him and evaluate his potential bid to buy the team. The matter remains confidential so the details are still murky, but hiring the investment firm to help him indicates his seriousness.
Allen & Co. helped carry out the two most recent sales of NFL teams, in 2018 for the Carolina Panthers and last year for the Denver Broncos. The deals were valued at $2.275 billion and $4.65 billion, respectively.
It's also worked on deals in other sports, including an attempt to help spin off a minority ownership stake in Major League Baseball's New York Mets.
And the New York investment firm is no stranger to other high-profile deals. It helped underwrite IPOs for both Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) and Twitter and advised Facebook (META) in its acquisition of Whatsapp.
A Commanders Buyout Won't Be Simple
Buying the Washington Commanders isn't likely to be a linear deal, even if it does ultimately go to the third richest man in the world. The Commanders have been under the ownership of Dan Snyder, who's grappled with various allegations involving sexual misconduct.
Following the Snyder allegations, Dan and his wife, Tara, said in November that they'd hired Bank of America (BAC) to help them explore a potential sale of the team.
Bezos's interest has been made relatively well known through scuttlebutt; other rumored suitors include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and rapper Jay-Z, who is talked about as a potential partner with Bezos to buy the team.
Bezos may be the most serious bidder here, since Amazon has been not-so-quietly moving in on the NFL for years.
The online-retail and cloud giant has had the exclusive streaming rights to "Thursday Night Football" for 11 years now -- a deal that may have cost around $11 billion. What's another $7 billion of $8 billion (the purported sticker price Snyder is seeking) to one of the world's richest men, who just can't seem to get enough football?
