Ron Rivera feels ‘relief’ following news of Commanders sale

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera feels “like a load was lifted” following reports of Washington owner Dan Snyder reaching a bid to sell the team.

Rivera, who will enter into his fourth year with the Commanders next season, expressed his feelings about the potential sale on Friday to USA Today, saying Snyder dealing the team off to Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris and his group prompted the coach to feel “relief.”

“Everybody was on pins and needles for the last couple of months,” Rivera said when asked about the tentative sale. “You kind of wondered what was going to happen… Now that they’ve come up with a deal, we can continue to do what we’ve been doing.”

Harris, alongside billionaire Mitchell Rales and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, reached the NFL-record $6.05 billion sale number on Thursday, according to multiple reports.

The deal isn’t fully finalized, though, with ESPN reporting that Canadian billionaire Steve Apostopolous is still in the mix.

The Harris group, however, is optimistic it will be able to take the reins from Snyder, according to ESPN.

Snyder, who has owned the team since 1999, has seen the Commanders go through a 164-220-2 record in the regular season during his time as Washington’s owner.

The 58-year-old owner has also been through a myriad of scandals, which included a US House Committee investigation last December that found Snyder had a direct role in the Commanders’ “toxic” work environment for over 20 years.

The scandal-scarred owner was also accused of interfering with NFL and House investigations.

Instead of being forced out by his fellow owners, Snyder is appearing to sell the team on his own terms.

After hearing the news about the tentative sale, Rivera said the Commanders “got right back to draft meeting” with the NFL Draft nearing on April 27.

“We’ll still be business as usual,” Rivera said.