It seems like the Daniel Snyder era is coming to an end. Today, NFL owners are gathered in Minneapolis to discuss the sale of the Washington Commanders from Snyder to Josh Harris. For the sale to go through, it needs to be approved by 24 of the 32 teams. However, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that any owner will object to the sale.
In fact, it is highly unlikely that the nine owners required to object to stop the sale will do so. The sale has already passed the NFL’s finance committee, and all pending legal issues between Snyder and the league have been resolved.
One of the most significant days in the history of Washington’s football team finally has arrived: NFL owners are expected today to approve the sale of the Washington Commanders from Tanya and Dan Snyder to Josh Harris. pic.twitter.com/hzMTCtKS1a— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 20, 2023
Snyder’s reign as owner has been plagued by poor performance on the field, with just one playoff win in the past two decades, as well as several off-field scandals. This has led to a decline in fan attendance, with Washington having the most empty seats in the league. It’s safe to say that Snyder’s departure won’t be mourned by many in the NFL. It appears that Harris will take over as the new owner of the Commanders starting tomorrow.
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.
A New Beginning for the Commanders
Former co-owners Dan and Tina Snyder released a statement on the purchase agreement reached in May: “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 in May when the two sides agreed to the purchase:
“On behalf of our entire ownership group – including Mitch Rales, 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.”
The Josh Harris ownership group is expected to appear at the Commanders Training Camp Pep Rally at FedEx Field on Friday.
