Like the rest of the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers are watching as a much-needed ownership change was made. Per multiple reports, originally by Sportico.com, Dan Snyder is selling the Washington Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris for $6 billion. As nearly every NFL fan and some owners rejoice, there will still be plenty of impact made by this massive transaction. Barring any sort of terrible twist, most of the impact would be for the better, but what exactly would the impact be?
NFL.com
Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Art Rooney II
How does the sale impact the NFL?
With every form of sports transaction becoming the "highest paid __," the sale of the Commanders is now the most amount of money that a team has been sold for, with the previous record going to the Denver Broncos, being sold at $4.65 billion in 2022. The next time a team gets sold, expect it to go for even more money, no matter the team. Even a team that's known for struggling and being cheap, such as the Las Vegas Raiders, could sell for more than that. Like with player contracts, the number just keeps going higher and higher.
With Snyder selling on his own term instead of being voted out, he likely will not expose the skeletons in every owner's closet like he threatened to. As interesting and chaotic as that would have been, the other owners stay safe for now. Some of the owners didn't care about that, however, as some people's internal demons are already known, like Jim Irsay and his previous drug addiction/lack of concern for all types of injuries. For other owners, like Art Rooney II, there is a lot of speculation to be had.
What skeletons could be in Art Rooney II's closet?
The obvious one is that Rooney is cheap. It doesn't help when a majority of the Steelers don't believe that Rooney is willing to spend a dime to upgrade the team. 44% of the team said that they believe Rooney is willing to do so, which is 29th in the league. Fans also allege that Rooney gives Mike Tomlin a shoestring budget, forcing him to dumpster dive for assistant coaches.
Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin (right) and offensive coordinator, Matt Canada (left) laugh with one another at a practice during training camp. | Photo Credit: Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Despite Brian Flores being hired by the Steelers, they weren't exempt from being in his lawsuit for loopholing the Rooney Rule, and their recent coaching interviews could count for that. After Randy Fichtner was let go, the Steelers obviously wanted to hire Matt Canada. The only other person they interviewed for offensive coordinator was Hue Jackson, who had been out of the NFL for a couple years by then. When Keith Butler retired, their only outside interview was Patrick Graham. When he was inevitably lowballed, they went for another internal hire in Teryl Austin.
How does the sale affect the Steelers?
One major thing was that Snyder wanted to trade for Tomlin. It wouldn't have been a surprise to see him try it again if/when Ron Rivera got fired. With Snyder gone, it is safe to say that any chance of Tomlin being traded is now gone. Even though the potential return for him would have likely been astronomical, it is now a scenario of the past.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II introduces Omar Khan as General Manager in May of 2022. | Maya Giron / Post-Gazette
With Snyder gone, Commanders fans will be more willing to attend their games and buy merch. This would put more money into the NFL's revenue sharing, meaning Rooney can get more of the NFL's revenue, like the rest of the league. Maybe then, Rooney would be able to prove his own team and fans wrong and spend a little more to upgrade the facilities or coaching staff. Hopefully, Rooney would at least be willing to do that.
What do you think of Dan Snyder selling the Washington Commanders, and the impact it has on the Steelers and the rest of the NFL? Let us know in the comments below.
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