For months, Jeff Bezos has hovered over the ownership battle for the Washington Commanders—maintaining his so-called “optionality” to buy the franchise, but without committing to it formally. Rumors have swirled wildly in NFL circles as Bezos has remained strategically quiet, cultivating a sense of mystery for Dan Snyder’s bankers and advisers, to say nothing of the trepidation he has triggered in rival bidders. Anything can happen in the heat of a deal, and Bezos has the capital to go from silent to dominant with a single check.

But today I learned, from a source with direct knowledge of the matter, that Bezos is not in the bidding process and is not currently planning to make a bid for the team. That reporting should theoretically put an end to the rampant speculation that Bezos, along with his bankers at Allen & Co., are actively working to steal the team away from Josh Harris, the Apollo co-founder seen as the leader in the Commanders auction, or from Steve Apostolopoulos, the Canadian entrepreneur who has been working to put together his own $6 billion bid. They can both breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now.