Friday night was a culmination of Daron Payne’s amateur successes.

Surrounded by friends, family and old coaches at Shades Valley High in Irondale, Payne was back in his old high school gymnasium as his number was retired. Earlier that day, Payne’s professional career took a turn.

During the 2023 NFL League meetings in Minneapolis, team owners approved the sale of the Washington Commanders to an ownership group led by investor Josh Harris. Payne, a two-time national champion with Alabama football, spoke with AL.com about his new bosses and why it shouldn’t change much for the Pro Bowl defensive tackle.

“It don’t really mean too much to me,” Payne said. “I still gotta go out and do my thing every day. It’s not changing my day-to-day.”

Payne has appeared in 81 games amid three different iterations of the Washington football team. The first-round pick has produced 26.0 sacks in his career, along with 291 tackles and 55 quarterback hits. Payne was a freshman All-American and a first-team All-SEC selection in 2017 for the Crimson Tide.

Harris and his 19 associates, among them NBA Hall of Fame Magic Johnson, paid Dan and Tanya Snyder $6.05 billion for the franchise. Fans rejoiced upon hearing the news this weekend. Payne, who signed a four-year, $90 million contract in March, said he hasn’t met Harris or Johnson but anticipates he will.

During his jersey retirement ceremony, one speaker made a reference to the Commanders’ struggles and pleaded for the team to get a quarterback to help Payne and co. It triggered a half-smile from Payne and a few chuckles in the audience.

But one fan spectator in the crowd proudly wearing a Payne Washington jersey and other memorabilia took offense. After the ceremony, Payne was asked if the sale marked a new era in Washington football.

“I hope so. I hope we got a bunch of winning coming ahead. We got some good dudes coming in. I hope they come in with some great changes. I know we got a lot of good players this year and I feel like we got a good squad, I’m excited,” Payne said.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].