The Washington Commanders bidding process has been impacted by something outside of owner Dan Snyder’s control: the Federal Reserve.

The cost of borrowing has gone up as the Fed has attempted to tamp inflation with rate hikes. The increased cost of borrowing has become an added barrier for those interested in the Commanders, two sources told Front Office Sports. 

“It’s a very big deal,” one banker familiar with the process told FOS. “A lot of rich people are saying, ‘I don’t have that kind of cash, and I don’t want to move my assets out of where I have it.’ It’s not like billionaires keep piles of cash around.”

The prime rate is currently at 8%, the highest since 2007. That rate impacts not only the would-be controlling owner of an NFL franchise. 

The NFL requires that at least 30% of a team purchase be liquid (cash) held by one person who’d become the controlling owner. The rest can be raised through limited partners (co-owners) and financing if borrowing complies with the NFL’s debt restrictions. 

Typically, those in an ownership group would borrow against their assets —  at least in the short term — to amass the funds needed to purchase a team. 

So far, only the group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris has successfully managed the economic landscape. Harris’ bid is nearly $6 billion, and FOS previously reported that it’s the lone credible bid for the Commanders. 

And there’s one interested party who doesn’t have to worry about interest rates: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Reps for the third-richest person in the world have continued to monitor the process, although Bezos has yet to submit a bid. 

The prime rate was 3.25% when Snyder secured league approval to take on debt as part of a buyout of three co-owners in March 2021. Snyder financed half of the $900 million to secure the 40% of the Commanders he did not own. 

Beyond interest rates, fears over a banking crisis have reportedly impacted the bidding process of Manchester United. 

The Guardian reported earlier this month that uneasiness with the stability of the banking system and the cost of new debt has limited what was expected to be a major bidding war for the club. 

Manchester United, owned by the Glazer family, who also control the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, began exploring a Premier League club sale in November, days after Snyder announced he’d do the same with the Commanders.

Warner Bros. Discovery is working to gracefully exit the regional sports business.

The media giant is in negotiations with teams and leagues to pass off those networks, a source familiar with the matter told Front Office Sports. WBD owns and operates three RSNs and holds a 30% stake in a fourth, Root Sports, through AT&T Sportsnet.

WBD plans to be fully RSN-free by the 2023-24 NBA and NHL seasons and 2024 MLB season. It could even transition out of MLB broadcasts during this season if it can limit service disruption for viewers.

The company is in different stages of discussions with teams and may end up with different outcomes. Its deal with the Utah Jazz, for instance, expires at the end of this season, so there is relatively little to discuss.

Talks with the Houston Astros and Rockets are more complex: The teams are working to buy their local broadcaster from WBD, according to the Houston Chronicle.

AT&T Sportsnet’s RSNs also hold rights to MLB’s Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, as well as the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins. Root Sports’ broadcasts include the Seattle Mariners, Seahawks, and Kraken.

The company has not missed a rights payment to any of its teams.

There’s another twist in the Manchester United sale saga — though probably not the one that soccer fans wanted.

The Raine Group — the investment bank hired by owners the Glazer family — will be accepting a third round of bids to purchase the legendary English club, according to Sportico.

Seven potential ownership groups, including those led by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, reportedly received feedback from Raine and the Glazers about their bids and were invited to try again.

Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim are believed to have entered bids around $6.2 billion — which would make Man United’s sale the most expensive in professional sports history, but would still fall short of the Glazers’ $7.5 billion asking price.

The development follows reports of bidder frustration over a lack of communication from the club since submitting a second round of bids.

Four of the Glazer siblings — Kevin, Edward, Bryan, and Darcie — are reportedly in favor of selling the entirety of the club, while Joel and Avram Glazer, who have been most involved with the club during the family’s ownership, are reportedly looking to sell only a minority share or no part at all.

Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Becky Sauerbrunn, Jessica Mendoza, and more than 30 other women’s sports athletes signed a letter to Congress opposing a federal bill that would ban transgender girls from playing women’s sports in school.

“Every single child should have access to the lifesaving power of sports,” the letter, submitted on Monday by advocacy group Athlete Ally, read. “If this bill passes, transgender and intersex girls and women throughout the country will be forced to sit on the sidelines, away from their peers and their communities.”

The bill the letter addresses, called the “Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act,” would enshrine the ban into the language of the Title IX statute — originally passed to protect against sex discrimination in educational settings.

The bill has the support of more than 40 House Republicans and was debated during a hearing in March. Athlete Ally is one of many advocacy groups vehemently opposed to it — as are many liberal lawmakers like those in the Congressional Equity Caucus.

All three branches of Congress are involved in the debate. 

The Biden administration publicized its response through the Department of Education. Last week, the federal body issued a draft of guidelines which would prohibit “blanket” bans on transgender girls in sports but would allow bans in certain circumstances.

On the same day that the Biden Administration submitted its proposal, the Supreme Court upheld the right of a 12-year-old transgender girl to participate in girls’ track and field in West Virginia.