As anticipated, Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera didn’t break any news when it came to the pending sale of the franchise. 

“As far as what’s going on with the sale, that’s not a question for us,” Rivera said in a pre-NFL Draft media chat with reporters on Thursday. “Until it’s done, there’s not much to say.”

Even before the team went on the market in November, Rivera faced several non-football questions — many pertaining to the multiple investigations of owner Dan Snyder and his team since he was hired in January 2020. 

The test for Rivera, general manager Martin Mayhew, and other team execs is to not let the ambiguity over the team’s immediate future turn into paralysis that could persist even after the expected $6.05 billion sale to a group led by Josh Harris becomes official. 

Beyond next week’s draft, the team has a May 2 deadline to pick up the fifth-year option for defensive end Chase Young, all while dealing with around only $3 million in cap space.

Once the announcement is made and the application heads to the NFL, the league’s review process — which includes financial and criminal audits — begins. Then comes an examination by the NFL finance committee. 

Once the announcement is made and the application heads to the NFL, the league’s review process — which includes financial and criminal audits — begins. Then comes an examination by the NFL finance committee ahead of full ownership vote — a process that typically takes about two months.

Rivera said he’s not spoken with anyone from Harris’ group. While there’s nothing barring an incoming ownership group from talking to current members of the staff, they can’t exert any influence over the team until the approval process is complete.

Reports earlier this week indicated that the Glazer family is close to securing minority investment in Manchester United — thus maintaining majority control of the club.

Nevertheless, one of the finalists to buy the team outright is still confident he’ll succeed.

Sheikh ­Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani — chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank and a member of the Qatari royal family — believes that the Glazers will accept his reported bid of at least $6.2 billion to buy the majority stake in Man United.

Sheikh Jassim has flaunted the fact that he will not need to borrow money to pull off the purchase, while his fellow finalist, the British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, would reportedly need to take on debt to finance his bid.

A third finalist to buy the team outright, Finnish billionaire Thomas Zilliacus, exited the bidding war after The Raine Group, the facilitator of the sale, asked for a third round of bids.

The Carlyle Group, which is the largest private equity firm in the world, has previously expressed interest in buying a portion of the team, as have Elliott Investment Management, Ares Management Corporation, and Sixth Street Partners.

Shares likely to be sold are those owned by Kevin, Bryan, and Edward Glazer, and Darcie Glazer Kassewitz — all of whom have indicated they would sell for the right price.

Their siblings, Joel and Avram Glazer, are Manchester United’s co-chairmen and have shown reluctance to sell the team as the sale process has dragged on.

The skyrocketing appeal of women’s sports is underlined by a new agreement coming Thursday.

The WNBA is announcing a multiyear agreement with The E.W. Scripps Company to televise games Friday nights on ION. 

“Access to watch WNBA games is in high demand, and Scripps’ dedicated Friday night lineup of WNBA games on ION will become much-desired appointment viewing for WNBA fans,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

The regular-season games will appear in two windows over the 15-week period from May 26-Sept. 8, and there will be both national and regional telecasts. 

The WNBA will be ION’s first sports property.  

Recent record TV ratings for Women’s Final Four illustrate the popularity of women’s sports, noted Brian Lawlor, president of the new Scripps Sports. ION boasts a large audience of female viewers in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 age group.

“We’re starting a big franchise night for the [WNBA],” Lawlor said. “We will have every game. We’ll be able to distribute it on a national basis, but also localize every game — sort of like CBS and Fox do on [NFL] Sunday afternoons.”

MLB Rights On Deck?

Meanwhile, Scripps Sports has positioned itself as a white knight to MLB teams eager to bail out of their contracts with bankrupt Diamond Sports and its Bally Sports RSNs.

“We may be part of a solution in specific markets. Time will tell on that,” Lawlor said.

Diamond Sports hasn’t made rights fees payments on time in several MLB cities — and it looks like Cincinnati is next.

The Reds’ situation, however, is a bit different from some other MLB markets, notes the Sports Business Journal. 

The Reds own a minority stake in Bally Sports Ohio, which has allowed the RSN to be kept separate from the bankruptcy case Diamond filed in March to restructure $8 billion in debt. 

Diamond — which owes the majority of Bally Sports Ohio — will likely not pay its rights fee on time to the Reds. If it fails to do so within a 15-day grace period, MLB reportedly expects to retain the Reds’ local broadcast rights, starting with the team’s series against the White Sox in the first week of May — thus allowing the league to take over production of games.

If MLB does retain the rights, the league reportedly has “handshake agreements” with providers such as DirecTV and Spectrum Cable to carry games in the Cincinnati market.

Diamond Sports, a Sinclair subsidiary, owns 19 Bally Sports-branded RSNs. The Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, and Minnesota Twins have all filed motions against Diamond for missed rights fee payments.

A bankruptcy judge is expected to rule next month on who controls rights to RSNs fully owned by Diamond, which has thus far not missed airing any games despite its failure to make payments.

The Angels, Cardinals, Marlins, Padres, and Royals — like the Reds — all have part ownership in their Bally Sports RSNs.