There is a lot of skepticism surrounding the reported bid attempt by former Duke basketball player Brian Davis to buy the Washington Commanders. Count former NFL player and Maryland Terrapins standout Shawne Merriman as a notable person that doesn’t believe Davis can pull off such a purchase.
Merriman voiced his opinion about the matter via Twitter:
“BS, Brian Davis doesn’t have the funds, tried to get me for [$3 million], took his [expletive] to court, and won $4M. He owes a bunch of athletes money. The other owners will never approve this.”
Davis has a history of being sued for owing money to vendors, loaners, and athletes.
Davis partnered with former Duke teammate Christian Laettner and tried to buy a majority stake in the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies in 2006. But the deal fell through after Davis could not provide the funds for the potential sale.
Basketball Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen sued Davis and Laettner over the failed bid, resulting in Pippen getting awarded $2.55 million. Fannie Mae, Chevron Inc., and a Duke law professor later sued Davis for the same reason for failing to pay back loans, per ESPN.
In 2007, Merriman loaned Davis and Laettner $3 million for their real estate business. However, the loan defaulted in 2009, forcing the former Merriman to sue. He was awarded just under $4 million in January 2011.
Former Duke standout Johny Dawkins also sued Davis and Laettner for $671,309.
According to WUSA-9’s Darren M. Haynes, Davis bid $7 billion to buy the Washington Commanders. A group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris agreed in principle with Dan Snyder to buy the Commanders for $6.05 billion last week. NBA legend and entrepreneur Magic Johnson is also part of Harris’ group.
Harris’ deal is non-exclusive, allowing a suitor to provide a better bid before the sale gets finalized.
Brian Davis is willing to pay the $7 billion in cash with a $1 billion deposit to Snyder within 24 hours and the remaining $6 billion within seven days. It’s unclear what is Davis’ net worth. There are questions that Davis satisfies the NFL lead investor rules.
According to The Washington Post, the NFL requires the lead investor of an ownership group to have at least a 30 percent equity stake in the purchase — that’s roughly $2.1 billion for Davis’ $7 billion bid. Also, the group cannot exceed 25 members and cannot burrow more than $1.1 billion to finalize a sale.
Haynes reports that Davis recently received a $50 billion valuation from investors as he raised capital for his energy company.
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