Commanders sale vote dates put endgame in sight

After the team canceled its voluntary practice Tuesday, the Washington Commanders now have roughly six weeks off before training camp begins late next month. But that break won’t be all a vacation for coach Ron Rivera. 

There’s still the sale of the franchise to monitor, after all. 

“That’s probably the biggest thing we’re waiting for,” Rivera said.

Rivera’s wait may now have an end date in sight. The NFL informed owners recently to be available for a possible special league meeting on July 20 and Aug. 8 in anticipation of a vote on Josh Harris’ $6.05 billion purchase of the Commanders. If the league selects July 20, in particular, that means Rivera and Co. could officially have a new boss by the time training camp begins — granted Harris receives at least 24 of 32 votes from owners, as needed. 

Rivera said last week that having the sale approved by training camp, which begins July 27, would help “a lot.” For one, the finalized deal would allow Rivera to finally speak with Harris as league rules prevent the soon-to-be owner from communicating with team officials until the sale is approved. 

But just as important, a done deal might finally give the Commanders some stability — something the team has rarely had in Rivera’s last three years. 

Just look at a sample of the issues the Commanders have dealt with in (or near) training camp during Rivera’s tenure. Last year, owner Dan Snyder’s testimony to Congress loomed over the team as practices began, while weeks later, running back Brian Robinson was shot on the streets of the District. The year prior, weeks before camp opened, the NFL hit Washington with a $10 million fine for workplace misconduct. And in 2020, that sexual harassment scandal came to light, the team changed its name and Rivera revealed he had cancer. 

Not every issue, such as Robinson’s shooting or Rivera’s cancer battle, was the fault of ownership. But Harris would provide a chance to start fresh for Washington. 

Even this offseason, several players noted the “new energy” around the Commanders, which they have said partly stems from fans’ excitement over the pending ownership change. 

“When you’re trying to make positive changes on and off the field … you’re going to feel that as a player, you’re going to feel the energy changing,” cornerback Benjamin St-Juste said. “People are way more optimistic in terms of we’re fixing the things people were criticizing us for last season.”

“I know a lot of fans were unhappy with how things were run, so just to see the energy from the fans is exciting, man,” defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said. 

From a practical standpoint, the sooner Washington’s sale is finalized, the quicker that Rivera and Co. can handle business matters that have been shelved because of the pending change. Rivera has said contract extensions for players like safety Kam Curl and defensive end Montez Sweat have been put “on hold” since the front office is waiting for input from the next regime on how to proceed. 

Rivera has frequently said this offseason that he plans to pitch Washington’s next owner on his “vision” for the franchise. That’s an aspect Rivera said he struggled to do in Carolina when David Tepper bought the Panthers in 2018 when Rivera still coached there. This time around, Rivera said he will be “very concise” in his presentation to ownership. 

For that to happen, the NFL needs to approve Harris’ purchase to buy the Commanders. Last month, Commissioner Roger Goodell and several owners acknowledged that there were issues with the structure of Harris’ deal that needed to be sorted out before the deal could be approved. 

But Harris’ recent meeting with the league’s finance committee reportedly went well and has put the deal on track to receive a vote. The wait may finally be over.

Then, Rivera can get to work. 

“We’ve gotta be able to present the plan to the ownership and they gotta be in agreement with it too,” Rivera said. “I mean, we can’t go on until we get a chance to explain to them exactly what our thoughts and ideas are and whether they agree or disagree. I mean, that’s gonna be very important to be able to get those kind of answers going forward to help this organization.”