Actor Ryan Reynolds halts efforts to buy Ottawa Senators, per report

Actor Ryan Reynolds has halted his bid to buy the Ottawa Senators.

The "Deadpool" star, who also co-owns the Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, was part of a group looking to buy the NHL team in the wake of longtime owner Eugene Melnyk's death.

ESPN reports sources close to the process say Reynolds asked for an exclusive negotiating window to complete the sale, and then backed out of the bid when his request was denied.

Among the other bidders for the team is a group headed by Los Angeles-based businessman Neko Sparks that includes rapper Snoop Dogg.

The deadline for interested parties to submit final nonbinding bids is May 15.

Reynolds, who grew up in Canada, discussed his interest in buying the Senators with late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon in November.

"I am trying to (buy the team); it's very expensive, so I need a partner with really deep pockets," he said. "It's called a consortium, when you form a group to buy an entity, and it's such a fancy way of saying, 'I need a sugar mommy or a sugar daddy,' and if that doesn't happen, I'll buy a U.S. senator, which everyone can afford."

Melnyk had owned the Senators since 2003. He died in March 2022.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryan Reynolds halts bid to buy NHL's Ottawa Senators, per report