Actor Matthew McConaughey is reportedly set to join Jeff Bezos and rapper Jay Z in a coalition vying to buy the Washington Commanders.
According to the New York Post, a source familiar with the plans added that McConaughey is a “big fan” of the Redskins/Commanders.
“Matthew has always been a huge fan and his ties with the team go way back,” the source told the paper. “They support his foundation and he’s good pals with Dan Snyder — he and [supermodel wife Camila Alves] were on Dan’s yacht over the Super Bowl last year.”
Neither the Magic Mike star nor his representatives have verified the claims.
Matthew McConaughey looks on in the Paddock ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of France at Circuit Paul Ricard on July 24, 2022, in Le Castellet, France. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Still, it would not be surprising if McConaughey were to join the group seeking to buy the team, as he has been a lifelong fan of the team.
Back in 2014, for instance, the Lincoln Lawyer star told GQ magazine that he had been a fan of the then Redskins since he was a youngster.
“Two things,” he said. “First: 4 years old, watching Westerns, I always rooted for the Indians. Second, my favorite food was hamburgers. The Redskins had a linebacker named Chris Hanburger.”
He also insisted that he opposed the idea of changing the team’s name back then.
What interests me is how quickly it got pushed into the social consciousness. We were all fine with it since the 1930s, and all of a sudden we go, ‘No, gotta change it?’ It seems like when the first levee breaks, everybody gets on board. I know a lot of Native Americans don’t have a problem with it, but they’re not going to say, ‘No, we really want the name.’ That’s not how they’re going to use their pulpit. It’s like my feeling about gun control: ‘I get it. You have the right to have guns. But look, let’s forget that right. Let’s forget the pleasure you get safely on your range, because it’s in the wrong hands in other places.’
McConaughey even said he loved the Redskins logo.
“I love the emblem,” he told the magazine. “I dig it. It gives me a little fire and some oomph. But now that it’s in the court of public opinion, it’s going to change. I wish it wouldn’t, but it will.”
All this is probably something McConaughey doesn’t want anyone to remember now that the team has dumped its long-time name. But it is all a good illustration of how much and how long he has supported the team.
Current owner, Dan Snyder, is reportedly looking to get out from under his NFL obligations after coming under fire for years for a corrupted culture inside the team’s locker rooms as well as its administration and back offices.
Team co-owner Dan Snyder speaks during the announcement of the Washington Football Team’s name change to the Washington Commanders at FedExField on February 02, 2022, in Landover, Maryland. (Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Snyder purchased the Redskins for $800 million in 1999. But according to Forbes, the team has now soared to a net worth of $5.6 billion. If the team is sold, it will likely ring in as the highest amount ever paid for an NFL team.
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