Durant wants to join Commanders' potential new ownership
If the Washington Commanders are up for sale, Brooklyn Nets star and former MVP Kevin Durant wants to join their next ownership group.
"In a perfect world, I would be a part of it," Durant said, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN. "I would love to do it. I would love to give a little bit of my money to be a part of the Commanders, but we'll see.
"Hopefully it's somebody nice. I heard (Jeff) Bezos and Jay-Z, but you never know."
The Amazon CEO and the rapper are reportedly interested in purchasing the franchise together, according to Mark Maske, Nicki Jhabvala, and Liz Clarke of The Washington Post. They'd need to entice longtime owner Dan Snyder, who enlisted BofA Securities to "consider potential transactions" surrounding the franchise Wednesday. It's unclear if Snyder intends to sell the team outright or part with minority stakes.
Durant was born in Washington, D.C. in 1988, 11 years before Snyder bought the team in May 1999. The Brooklyn Nets star was raised in the DMV - the colloquial term for the metropolitan area encompassing D.C and parts of Maryland and Virginia - and has long been a fan of the NFL franchise.
If the 34-year-old were to join a new ownership group, he said he'd likely remain a fan rather than attempt to sway daily operations.
The 12-time NBA All-Star admitted, though, that the Commanders' expected lucrative valuation may prove too expensive for him to acquire a stake.
The Commanders are worth an estimated $5.6 billion, according to Forbes. Durant will have earned nearly $500 million in career salary by 2026, according to Spotrac.
"I don't have that much money to say, 'Look, man, let me get a piece of the team,'" he said. "So I'm sure it would have to work out some way, somehow. I would love to, obviously, but to be honest, I doubt that it'll happen."
The Commanders are reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia for alleged financial impropriety and deceptive business practices.