NEWSLETTER
The Washington Commanders will have a new owner when the 2023 season opens in a few months. According to Adam Schefter, the Commanders and a partnership led by Josh Harris have entered into a purchase and sale agreement. The agreement was announced jointly by both sides this afternoon.
Both sides announced on April 13 that Dan Snyder had accepted Harris’ bid to purchase the team. Harris’ $6 billion bid becomes the largest deal consummated by someone purchasing an American sports team. Eclipsing the $4.6 billion tag Rob Walton gave out to buy the Denver Broncos last year.
Harris’ group includes Magic Johnson — who also owns a part of the Los Angeles Dodgers — and Mitchell Rales, a Washington-based billionaire with a net worth of $5.5 billion. This group attempted to purchase the Denver Broncos last summer before the Walton-Penner group ultimately purchased the franchise for $4.65 billion. Harris also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.
Harris’ group beat out Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos and his $6 billion bid to purchase the Washington Commanders. Dan and Tina Snyder announced their intention to sell the team in November.
Washington Commanders co-owners Dan and Tina Snyder released a statement on the purchase today:
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the Commanders franchise with Josh Harris, an area native, and his impressive group of partners. We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”
New owner Josh Harris also released a statement today:
“On behalf of our entire ownership group – including Mitchales, my longtime sports business partner David Blitzer, and Earvin Magic Johnson — I want to express how excited we are to be considered by the NFL to be the next owners of the Washington Commanders and how committed we are to delivering a championship-caliber franchise for this city and its fanbase.
Growing up in Chevy Chase, I experienced first-hand the excitement around the team, including its three Super Bowl victories and long-term winning culture. We look forward to the formal approval of our ownership by the NFL in the months ahead and to having the honor of serving as responsible and accountable stewards of the Commanders franchise moving forward.
Thank you to Tanya and Dan Snyder and the staff of the Commanders for their partnership and cooperation throughout the sale process. In addition to Mitch, David, and Magic, our extraordinary ownership group includes local business leader Mark Ein, Lee Ainslie, Eric Holoman, Michael Li, owner of Range Group, the Morgan family, owners of Morgan Properties, the Santo Domingo family, Michael Sapir, Co-founder and CEO of ProShares, Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and Executive Chair and Andy Snyder amongst others. Together these individuals and families have the collective resources and shared commitment to support our vision for the Commanders.
We look forward to running a world-class organization and making significant investments on and off the field to achieve excellence and have a lasting and positive impact on the community.”
According to Ian Rapoport, the deal should be completed by the month’s end, and the Washington Commanders’ sale will be complete.
