Ted Leonsis owns the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, and Washington Mystics. And he made his best effort to land the Washington Nationals late last year, too.

According to reporting by the Washington Post, Leonsis offered over $2 billion to buy the Nationals from the Lerner family toward the end of 2022. The Post says it’s unclear whether the Lerners turned down the offer or simply did not respond. However, they report that the two sides are still in touch.

The Nationals paused the sale process shortly before Opening Day; it will remain on hold through the entire 2023 MLB season. Sports Business Journal reports that the auction is expected to pick up again over the offseason.

Forbes says the Nationals are worth $2 billion. The Lerners hoped to get the same price the New York Mets fetched: $2.4 billion.

Leonsis’s interest in the Nationals first popped up in mid-April of 2022. The Monumental Sports & Entertainment leader eventually formed a group with David Rubenstein (net worth: $3.3 billion), co-founder of the Carlyle Group. By the fall, reports said that Leonsis was the front-runner to buy the Nats, as he had the deep pockets and strong ties with the Lerner family to complete the deal.

One hurdle was MASN – the Baltimore Orioles’ media network — that owns the local television rights of both the O’s and the Nationals. The Orioles owns over three-quarters of MASN (and by extension, the Nationals’ TV rights) in perpetuity as part of the agreement that allowed DC to land the Expos in 2005.

The Post reports that Leonsis inquired about purchasing MASN, but was rebuffed by the network, saying the company was not for sale.

The Nationals, Orioles, and MASN are currently entwined in a years-long lawsuit about rights fees and profit sharing.

If Leonsis would have landed the Nationals without any new agreement with MASN, he would have acquired the same deal the Lerners have currently with the network.

Leonsis’s bid for the Nationals comes after he completed the purchase of NBC Sports Washington — the media network that covered and aired games of the Capitals and Wizards — in September. The network will get a Monumental rebrand. Axios reports the new name will be announced this summer and the launch will happen in the fall.

The Nationals would have given Leonsis more summer programming when the Capitals and Wizards weren’t playing.

Headline photo: Ian Oland/RMNB