We Could Be Getting Very Close to a Sale of the Washington Commanders (UPDATES)
We could be getting pretty close to the finish line on the sale of the Washington Commanders this afternoon.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Josh Harris/Mitchell Rales group (which includes Magic Johnson) has officially submitted a fully-financed bid that meets Dan Snyder’s $6 billion asking price.
The belief was that the sale could happen this week with all 32 owners in Phoenix for the annual league meeting. Now, that could become a reality.
When Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos joined the fray, things began to heat up last week. Previously, it was just the Harris/Rales/Johnson group and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta in the mix to become the next owners of the Commanders.
Apostolopoulos — who recently had discussions with Michael Jordan about purchasing the Charlotte Hornets before considering the opportunity to buy the Washington Commanders — could have motivated the Harris group to meet Snyder’s hefty asking price.
Forbes has the Commanders valued at $5.6 billion, so upwards of $6 billion is a premium Snyder demanded after being forced out. Dan and Tina Snyder announced their intention to sell the team in November.
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.
Now we wait and see whether or not Snyder accepts the offer.
UPDATE (March 28 at 1:30 pm)
We’ve got another bidder!
Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos has also submitted a fully-financed $6 million bid to Daniel Snyder and the Washington Commanders.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes that the multiple $6 million bids could lead to a sale agreement before the NFL Draft.
