'There's nothing but upside:' Why positive vibes pervade Commanders ahead of Snyder sale

PHOENIX -- Ron Rivera hadn’t coached a game with the Washington Commanders before everything changed.

The team went through a name change, followed by a scandal over allegations of a toxic workplace culture, followed by Rivera being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. That’s why dealing with a pending sale isn’t about to faze him.

“It’s par for the course, man, it’s what we deal with,” Rivera said. “It’s what I’ve dealt with. It’s what our organization has dealt with the last three-and-a-half years. The unfortunate part of the game is that things change and you’ve got to be able to adapt and go forward.”

Yet, as their organization changes with the franchise up for sale, there’s excitement about what lies ahead -- both from a business standpoint as well as on the field. Whether their feelings prove accurate remain to be seen, but both Rivera and team president Jason Wright say there are positive vibes because of the future.

That future almost assuredly won’t include owners Dan and Tanya Snyder, who put the team up for sale in November. Numerous team sources say it’s a matter of when, not if, they eventually sell. Two groups -- one led by Josh Harris; the other by Steve Apostoloupolos -- have placed official bids on the team. At least one other unnamed group has toured the facilities. While Jeff Bezos has not placed an official bid, his name remains part of the conversation as well.

The official bids were reported to be $6 billion, which would be a record for an NFL franchise. They’d buy a team that has endured one controversy after another for several years -- most of it stemming from accusations against Dan Snyder, from financial improprieties to sexual misconduct and a toxic work culture.

The team has not posted a winning record since 2016, though they did win the NFC East at 7-9 in 2020, Rivera’s first season. Their attendance has lagged -- Washington averaged 52,751 fans in 2021 but with a big push for season tickets they increased it to 58,106 last season. But the Commanders still ranked last in average attendance. They were also last in percentage of seats filled at 85.9%. The New York Giants were 31st at 92.7%.

According to an ESPN report in February, the team’s local revenue -- which is separate from NFL media rights deals -- went from $241 million in the fiscal year 2009 to $160 million in 2020.

“There’s nothing but upside on the other side of this,” Wright said last week from the owners meetings in Phoenix. “There will be growth in suite sales, growth in sponsorship sales because there [are] people choosing not to do business with us that will choose to do business with us now."

Wright has been the person leading groups as they tour the facilities. He wants to stick around under new ownership. He also has weekly talks with the Snyders, keeping them abreast of the business side. He has worked under them since August 2020 and says their post-sale thoughts align with his vision.

“They knew the business side would get better on the other side of this,” Wright said. “They’re not dumb. They recognize that and so it’s congruent and they want us to be successful as a franchise. They don’t want us to fail, ‘Oooh, I’m rooting against them. I’m turning into a Cowboys fan.’

“They’re grown folks. It’s just the right thing to do at the right time.”

Wright said the team signed its most lucrative sponsorship deal in August with SeatGeek.com -- Forbes reported the four-year contract was worth between $10 million and $12 million per year. But they also lost longtime sponsor Anheuser-Busch last year, a direct result, team sources said, of Snyder’s presence and the investigations. That cost them several million in annual revenue.

“After a transaction,” Wright said, “there will be additional business momentum.”

To help fuel that momentum, Washington needs to do something it hasn’t done in a while: Win. The franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 2005 and hasn’t won more than 10 games in a season since 1991 -- also the last time they reached a championship game. The Commanders finished last in the NFC East last season, albeit with an 8-8-1 record.

Since then, Rivera overhauled his offensive staff by hiring coordinator Eric Bieniemy and changing coaches along the line, at receiver and at quarterback. The Commanders like their defense, which finished seventh in points and third in yards last season.

They like the potential of their offense with Bieniemy, their wide receiving talent -- Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel -- and their running game with Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson. They also like quarterback Sam Howell, their fifth-round pick last April who made one start last season. Team sources with direct knowledge said the Commanders rated him as a second- or third-round pick but, with Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke on the roster, felt they were set. But when Howell fell to the fifth round, they pounced.

“There's a quiet confidence that he has,” Washington general manager Martin Mayhew said. “He fits in well in the locker room. The guys trust him, they respect him, he works his butt off. He's very smart. He can make every throw that there is and the guy's very, very talented. He's going to be a good player, I believe.”

Whether or not that belief is rewarded will be determined in the fall. For now, team sources say they like that they can build around a quarterback on a rookie contract -- and will continue to do so in the draft. Howell's cap hit this season will be $960,400. Last year, Wentz cost $28 million on the cap.

“The excitement's more around the football team than it is the ownership, to be honest,” Rivera said. “Just because of the energy that's been brought to the building that Eric Bieniemy has brought, the potential. I mean, a lot of people are buying into that. ... There's been a lot of stuff around us as a football team that we're excited about.”

Rivera has bemoaned over the last year in particular all that he and the franchise had to deal with because of stories that, he said, always seemed to come out after something positive had happened. Offensive tackle Charles Leno Jr. said during the season players needed to develop ‘calluses’ to play here because of those types of scenarios.

“[It’s] as much relief of, ‘OK, now we know what we’re doing and where we’re going’,” Rivera said. “It is exciting. It will mark a new era. It will change some things, but the biggest thing is the excitement of who we are as a team. ... The hard part for everybody is right now we’re just waiting for it to happen so we’ll see.”