Famous Former Player in Talks to Join Group Bidding for NFL’s Commanders
Former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III is in discussions to potentially join one of the two groups bidding for the Commanders, he said on The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday.
Griffin would be an addition to the Josh Harris/Mitchell Rales group, which includes former NBA great Magic Johnson. This group placed a $6 million bid on the team Tuesday. Griffin said he’s “been having some really great conversations” with the group.
“I’m head over heels about that process,” Griffin said. “To be a player for that team, to not have my career to go the way that I wanted it to, or the fans wanted it to, it would be a full circle type of moment to come back and try to help that team and that organization build the winner that the fans deserve.”
Whoa, is our buddy @RGIII involved with the Harris/Rales/@MagicJohnson bid to purchase the @Commanders?!
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) March 29, 2023
Hard not to think so after these comments today from the former #HTTC QB:#NFL #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/DYhOScUY1t
Griffin was selected No. 2 overall in the 2012 NFL draft by Washington. The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, along with earning a Pro Bowl bid his rookie season.
However, Griffin struggled the next three seasons with the team. In 2014, he injured his ankle, causing him to miss about half the season. Then, in ’15, he lost the starting quarterback position to now-Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Griffin retired from playing and joined ESPN as an analyst in 2021.
The Commanders reportedly have been on the market ever since current owners Dan and Tanya Snyder hired Bank of America in early November to explore a possible sale. That announcement came after a Dec. 8 report from the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform implicated Snyder in perpetuating “a toxic workplace culture by ignoring and downplaying sexual misconduct” within the organization.
Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos also has submitted a $6 billion bid for the team.