Redskins President John Kent Cooke "withdrew his
approximately" $720M bid for the team and Jack Kent Cooke
Stadium yesterday, as the Jack Kent Cooke estate trustees
"appear prepared to recommend" that the team be sold for
$800M to the group led by MD business exec Daniel Snyder,
according to Maske & Shapiro of the WASHINGTON POST. League
sources say that although AZ developer Sam Grossman is still
interested in making an offer for the Redskins similar to
that of the Snyder group, the trustees "appear to favor"
submitting Snyder's bid to the league in order to avoid a
second auction for the team. One NFL team owner said
yesterday that Snyder "is the one the trustees are going to
recommend." Cooke, who initially bid $680M for the team:
"This week I presented a greatly increased offer to the
other executors of my father's estate. ... The executors
failed to act on my offer and I have withdrawn it. I refuse
to be used merely to increase the bids of others." But
sources close to the sale were "not ruling out the
possibility of Cooke making another bid for the team if the
Snyder deal falls through." Cooke owns 10% of the team and
would receive roughly $60M if Snyder's bid is accepted. The
trustees "apparently remained skeptical" of Cooke's
finances, and they were "wary" of putting his proposal in
front of the league "after the close scrutiny" that Howard
Milstein's offer had received (WASHINGTON POST, 4/23).
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE? In DC, Snider & Fisher cite
league sources as saying that a deal between the trustees
and Snyder "should be finalized within days," and NFL owners
"are expected" to vote on it at a meeting in late May in
Atlanta. The Grossman group is now considered to be in the
"fallback position" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 4/23). Orioles Owner
Peter Angelos said he thinks the bidding has gone too high:
"We bid $625 million last time and I think you can justify
that, maybe somewhat more. ... But I don't think the team is
worth $700 million, certainly not $800 million. To the
successful bidder, I wish him well" (Baltimore SUN, 4/23).
