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Redskins minority owners seek to sell team stakes despite ongoing turmoil

Rothman is President and CEO of Black Diamond Capital, a private investment company. Schar is president of NVR Inc., the fifth largest home builder in the country.

Smith is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of FedEx, which in 1999 signed a $ 27 million naming rights agreement for what is now known as FedEx Field.

Among them, they represent about 40% of the property of the Redskins. They are also the only members of the team’s ownership group other than Snyder, his mother, and his sister.

None of the minority owners could be reached for comment on Sunday.

A Redskins spokesperson said the team had no comments.

The offer of minority owners to sell their shares comes as the Redskins organization tries to move from the most controversial aspect of its heritage, announcing Friday that it is launching a study on the name of the team, which many have long considered a racial insult. . This study, according to people familiar with the operation of the NFL, should lead to the announcement of a new name and a new logo, probably before the start of the 2020 season.

On Thursday, FedEx became the first major Redskins funder to call the team for a name change. He did so through a one-sentence statement that said, “We have communicated to the Washington team our request to change the team name.”

In less than 24 hours, Nike, PepsiCo and Bank of America have recognized that they too believe the name should be changed, which increases financial and political pressure on Snyder.

Despite indications that the Redskins are about to make this change – an essential first step if Snyder hopes to build a new stadium on the district RFK stadium site – his fellow team owners seem to prefer to retire rather than to go ahead.

Pro Football Talk reported on Sunday that Schar and Smith were trying to sell their interests in the team.

Triple-champion Super Bowl Redskins is the seventh most valuable 32-team NFL franchise worth $ 3.4 billion, according to the latest Forbes NFL team ratings released in September 2019.

The Dallas Cowboys, worth $ 5.5 billion, are the most valuable franchise in the league.

Any sale of a stake in the Redskins should be approved by the NFL finance committee and then ratified by the owners of the other teams in the league.

A 10 to 15% stake in the Redskins would be worth between $ 340 and $ 510 million, according to Forbes’ assessment in 2019, which preceded the new coronavirus pandemic which is expected to negatively affect the values ​​of all professional sports franchises in the States -United.

If Rothman, Schar and Smith find buyers for their respective stakes in the Redskins, they would be the second group of business partners that Snyder has gone through in his 21 years as the team owner.

Snyder bought the Redskins in May 1999 as part of a three-member ownership group that included publishing mogul Mortimer Zuckerman and publisher Fred Drasner. A few months later, in December 1999, Zuckerman sold his approximately 15% stake in the team to Snyder.

Drasner gave in a few years later.

Rothman, Schar and Smith bought their shares in 2003.

According to a person familiar with Snyder’s relations with the team’s minority owners, Smith’s interest in the divestment would be particularly difficult for Snyder to accept.

“Dan admires and idolizes Fred Smith,” said the person.

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