Last April, the Lerner Family announced they were exploring options for a potential sale of the Washington Nationals. Several rumors have surfaced over the past nine months.
Washington Wizards, Capitals, and Mystics owner Ted Leonsis emerged as the frontrunner to buy the team. However, the sale of the Nationals appears to be on hold after talks with Leonsis and other suitors fell through. The revelation was first reported by Talk Nats earlier this week.
The Sports Junkies of 106.7 the Fan added to the Talk Nats’ report the sale has been paused due to offers being just over a billion dollars. The Lerners expected to sell the team for at least $2 billion. They bought the team from MLB for $450 million in 2006.
On the surface, $2 billion is fair. The New York Mets sold for $2.4 billion to Steve Cohen in 2020. The Nationals are in a large market in the nation’s capital. The fan base is strong, and the team is coming off a 2019 World Series title.
The Washington Post reports the Lerners are likely to bring on a minority partner. Perhaps that partner could come on board with the intent to buy controlling interest once hurdles impeding a sale get cleared.
The top obstacle holding back the sale is the Nationals’ complicated local TV rights. Their local TV rights belong to I-95 neighbors, the Baltimore Orioles at the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, thanks to an agreement with MLB that helped facilitate the Montreal Expos’ move to D.C.
The Nationals and Orioles are currently in a legal dispute over money owed. MLB has tried to mediate the situation through the years. In fact, according to the Post, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has joined sale discussion to give bidders a sense of the potential revenue for local broadcasting rights.
Leonsis’s recent purchase of NBC Sports Washington brought hope for resolving the Nationals’ deal with MASN. Yet, “there’s nothing happening anymore on the sale of the team with Leonsis… for now,” according to Talk Nats.
In addition to the local TV rights, the Nationals’ revenue stream is drier than other large-market MLB clubs. The Nationals don’t have a stadium naming rights deal despite a search that began in 2016.
The naming rights are yet another roadblock keeping the Nationals from being in a buyer’s market. Until then, the Lerners will continue to operate the Nationals. They’ll have to search for an alternative to selling the team at the current moment.
