The Washington Commanders have finally gotten to the finish line on a sale of the franchise, and the team’s head coach Ron Rivera is relieved.
“It really seemed like a load was lifted, because everybody was on pins and needles for the last couple of months,” Rivera said in an interview with USA Today on Friday. “You kind of wondered what was going to happen. … Then we got right back to the draft meetings,” Rivera said. “We’ll still be business as usual.”
The sale of the Washington Commanders went on much longer than anyone expected. After announcing that they would begin the process of a sale late last year, the team reportedly received multiple bids in December. However, months kept coming off the calendar and a sale did not seem any closer.
There were rumblings of interest from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and even speculation that billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg could get into the chase to own the NFL franchise. However, in the end, the group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owner Josh Harris was seen as the favorite and ended up offering the winning bid.
Harris’ group — which includes NBA legend Magic Johnson — will purchase the team for a record $6 billion. The deal is expected to be finalized in the next month, and that means Rivera will have a new boss in the near future. While that could be a reason for concern after going 22-27 during his three seasons as the head coach, the 61-year-old is thrilled the talk of a sale can finally end.
This will be a big year for Rivera as he will be expected to seriously compete for the NFC East title in 2023 after the Washington Commanders brought in highly respected offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy this offseason.
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