Report: NFL owners to ‘pause’ potential removal of Commanders owner Dan Snyder amid sale

The NFL owners meetings begin Sunday, March 26, but you shouldn’t expect any major news regarding the sale of the Washington Commanders.

Many believed the NFL had initially circled the March owners meetings as a soft deadline to wrap up the sale of the Commanders and possibly vote on a new owner. While sale talks are progressing, nothing is official.

According to Mark Maske, Liz Clarke and Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, Snyder’s fellow owners are pausing any talk about potentially removing him as they await his next move.

The owners are waiting to see what occurs over the coming weeks and possibly months with Snyder’s attempt to sell the franchise, his efforts to secure indemnification against legal liability and the outcome of the league’s second investigation into him and the team, said those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

Back in October, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said there was merit to potentially removing Snyder. Irsay made his comments at the NFL owners meetings, and they drew national headlines. In subsequent interviews, Irsay did not back off his comments. However, Irsay and other owners have remained quiet about Snyder since that time.

The Washington sale has heated up in recent weeks, with Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris emerging as the favorite. Harris’ additions of Mitchell Rales and Magic Johnson to his bid has only strengthened his position. 

However, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos remains in the shadows. And, according to sources close to Snyder, talks of Snyder’s issues with Bezos are “overblown,” and he’d welcome a bid from Bezos. 

The NFL’s new target for the Commanders’ sale appears to be the league meetings in May.

We’ll continue to follow all updates regarding the sale of the Washington Commanders.