Seven To Reject Redskins Sale

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

February 27, 1999 / 3:58 PM EST / CBS Sportsline

Seven NFL owners are willing to reject the deal for the sale of the Washington Redskins, according to the Washington Times.

Seven no votes would mean the remaining 24 team owners would have to grant their approval for the deal to survive.

The bid by Howard and Edward Milstein and Daniel Snyder faces opposition from the owners of the New Orleans Saints, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns, the Denver Broncos, the Buffalo Bills, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Carolina Panthers, the Times said.

Several other teams were still undecided, and the owners were awaiting a report on the sale from the NFL finance committee ahead of an expected vote at an owners meeting March 14-18 in Phoenix.

Three-quarters of the NFL's 30 teams must approve the sale for it to go through.

Redskins president John Kent Cooke -- son of the team's late owner, Jack Kent Cooke, and who lost out in his own bid to buy the team -- would benefit most if the deal is turned down. But under an agreement with the trustees of his father's estate, he must vote to approve.