In an interesting development occurred this morning on 106.7, The Fan’s The Sports Junkies, owner of the Washington Capitals, Mystics, and Monumental Sports Network, Ted Leonsis, announced that he intends to take another swing at purchasing the Washington Nationals from its current owners: the Lerner family. During the segment, Leonsis said he would “make a credible and strong offer.”

This isn’t a big surprise, as Leonsis’s interest in purchasing the Nationals first appeared across sports outlets in mid-April of 2022. According to reports a year later by the Washington Post, Lenonsis offered the Lerner family “more than $2 billion” to purchase the team. The one reported hurdle during the negotiations for purchasing the Nationals was the “MASN issue.”

However, that complication can be cleared now that the new Baltimore Orioles owner, David Rubenstein, is in control of MASN and the Orioles; it should be noted that it was reported that Rubenstein was part of the first group of investors that Leonsis put together in his first bid for the Nationals back in 2022.

It will be interesting to see if Leonsis and Rubestien can iron out an agreement for the Nationals to leave their MASN contract, as Rubestin himself has taken steps to get more interest in the Orioles from D.C investors and businesses, as the Baltimore Sports Journal reported. Back in March, Rubenstein did express “optimism in reaching an agreement with the Washington Nationals regarding MASN,” as reported by Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun.

One of the major perceived reasons why Leonsis is interested in purchasing the Washington Nationals is the ability to provide compelling programming on his owned Monumental Sports Network, which would not have programming during the entire summer after the Capitals and Wizards end their seasons in the late or early summers.

Then an article in the Washington Post by Scott Allen, Barry Svrluga, and Chelsea James, that was published today, quoted Leonsis saying that he has “ told the Lerner family, ‘We are very interested, and we will figure out the right time and place to come with a thoughtful, dignified, real offer.”

It was reported earlier this year that the Nationals’ managing principal owner, Mark Lerner, said the Nationals were no longer for sale; however, according to the Washington Post article, the Lerners “have said they expect the family would consider a new offer after the 2024 season, should a bidder surface.”

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