Last April, news broke that the Lerner family was considering selling the Washington Nationals. With Opening Day 2023 looming on Thursday, the Sports Business Journal now reports that the "sales process has been officially paused." As such, it looks like the family will look to resume the process this coming offseason. 

The main reason the sale is taking so long is the ongoing dispute with the Orioles regarding how to split the rights fees of MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network), which the two clubs share. It has been a point of contention between the two franchises for years and might be settled this coming summer. Once it is finally resolved, at least in theory, the sale of the Nationals should be a lot less complicated. The Washington Post's Chelsea Janes echoed that idea, saying the Nats' owners likely won't be able to get the price they're looking for until they can prove TV revenue.