Jeff Bezos Got Blocked From Buying An NFL Team: Here's Why

Despite being one of the richest people in the world, Jeff Bezos might not get his wish to own a National Football League team. Here’s the interesting reason why.

What Happened: The NFL's Washington Commanders have been placed up for sale by team owner Daniel Snyder and the Amazon.com founder and former CEO is among the interested parties.

There’s just one problem for Bezos in his attempt to purchase the Commanders.

Snyder holds a personal grudge against Bezos over articles that appeared in the Washington Post, a newspaper owned by the former Amazon CEO. Some reports say Snyder thinks Bezos encouraged the articles in an attempt to force the Commanders owner to have to sell the team. 

New reports from the New York Post say Bezos has been blocked in his attempt to purchase the Commanders. Snyder was seeking around $6 billion for the team, and the final bids came in at around $5.5 billion, according to the report.

The bidders include Josh Harris, the owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and an unidentified bidder. Harris is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management APO, one of the largest alternative investment firms in the world.

The Washington Post declared that Tilman Fertitta is involved in the bidding for the Commanders and the potential second mystery bidder. Fertitta owns the NBA’s Houston Rockets.

Related Link: Jeff Bezos Secrets For Success In Business That Apply To Your Life As Well 

What’s Next: Snyder has not confirmed if he will sell the Commanders for the $5.5 billion amount. 

The NFL is not forcing Snyder to sell the team. Snyder previously hinted that he has dirt on other NFL team owners and league commissioner Roger Goodell.

Bezos hired an investment bank to explore a bid for the team, and may not be willing to walk away quietly. With a wealth of $117 billion, according to Bloomberg, the Amazon founder may be able to offer the $6 billion asking price to make Snyder push his grudge aside. The league could also attempt to put pressure on Snyder to accept a bid from Bezos.

The New York Post said other NFL owners may want to see the team sold to Bezos, as it could raise the value of all the league’s teams. Amazon landed the rights for "Thursday Night Football" games, which helped boost revenue for the league. 

Bezos was previously rumored to be considering selling the Washington Post in a move that could prevent a conflict of interest of owning the team’s local paper.

Question marks could be raised over selling the team to Fertitta, who owns the Golden Nugget casinos and sold Golden Nugget Online Gaming to DraftKings Inc DKNG. Fertitta owns DraftKings shares as part of the deal, which he agreed not to sell for one year from the time of the deal.

The annual NFL team owners’ meeting begins on March 26 and the potential Commanders sale could be the focal point of more discussion.

Read Next: You Can't Buy An NFL Team But You Can Buy These 10 Public Sports Teams And Leagues 

Photo: All-Pro Reels and National Museum of Americ from flickr