COMMANDERS OWNER DAN SNYDER, SIXERS OWNER JOSH HARRIS REACH $6.05 BILLION AGREEMENT
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris appear to have reached an agreement in principle on a sale of the team to Harris’ group for $6.05 billion, as first reported by Sportico.
The two reached the agreement on Thursday afternoon but the deal is reported to be a preliminary, non-exclusive and unsigned pact. Harris appears to have won the bidding for the Commanders and a final sale is expected in the next few weeks if all goes according to plan.
According to NFL Network’s Rapoport, Harris’ group was always the favourite in the process and are now expected to take over in Washington. Previously interested in the purchase of the Broncos last summer, Harris, a Maryland native born in Chevy Chase, just 6 miles from the capital and an owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, now has a chance to take over his hometown team. Harris’ group also includes former Los Angeles Lakers executive Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Washington-area billionaire Mitchell Rales.
The deal is expected to be submitted and approved at an NFL Owners League Meeting in late May. Harris would need approval from the NFL’s Finance Committee and a ¾ (24) majority of league ownership. That could happen as early as May 22nd in Minneapolis.
If it goes through, the sale of the Washington Commanders will not only be the most expensive purchase of a team in NFL history – eclipsing the $4.65 billion buying price of the Denver Broncos by the Walton-Penner group last year – but also the most expensive purchase of a franchise in sports history. Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly’s acquisition of Premier League team, Chelsea F.C for $5.3 billion in May last year holds the spot for the most lucrative sports purchase to date.
The Washington Commanders have been on the market since Dan Snyder and his wife Tanya “hired BofA [Bank of America] Securities to consider potential transactions” in November, with a spokesperson confirming that they were “exploring all options” regarding the team.
The non-exclusive nature of Harris and Snyder’s agreement, however, and the fact that it remains unsigned, makes room for another group including the one led by Canadian entrepreneur Steve Apostolopoulos to submit a better bid, something that could restart the process over again.
Harris also plans to keep the Sixers and Devils alongside the Washington Commanders and would have to take priority of finishing the new stadium construction project set in motion by exiting owner Dan Snyder. Harris is also a general partner of the Premier League team, Crystal Palace.
Team President Justin Wright told WUSA9 regarding the stadium: “One of the exciting things about this transition process is that we’re going to have to calibrate that vision against what new owners will want to do. It’s going to be their project. We are in an interesting trade-off situation between speed and acceleration of getting it done, with needing to calibrate the vision and heart of a new ownership group.”
The Commanders could build the new stadium in Virginia, or in Maryland and Wright confirmed that there are positives to each stadium location.
Dan Snyder led the group that paid $800 million, largely financed through borrowed money, to purchase the Washington Redskins from former owner Jack Kent Cooke in May 1999. Snyder is expected to make a 756.25% return on his initial purchase price, just under a quarter a century later. With his 24-year ownership marred by controversy, multiple workplace conduct lawsuits, potential financial improprieties, and a lack of performance on the field, fans and many around the league felt that it was time for Snyder to say goodbye to Washington.
With arguably the most hated team nickname in sports, the Washington Commanders have floundered under Snyder. The team has a regular season record of 164-220-2 and a post-season record of 2-6, and ranked as the worst NFL team to play for in a 2023 survey conducted by the NFL Players Association. The Commanders also had the lowest grades in the NFL for their team facilities and lack of accommodations for the players and their families.
A potential purchase agreement is thus welcome news and offers some respite, coming just a day after Puck News’ Teddy Schleifer reported that Amazon and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos was no longer in the bidding process for the Commanders and did not plan to make an offer for the team. Bezos was arguably the fan favourite to purchase the team. But after two years of speculation, it was reported this week he would be out of the running for reasons that remain unclear.
Texas-born billionaire, TV personality and Houston Rockets’ owner Tilman Fertitta, however, was involved in the bidding process and revealed on Wednesday during an interview with CNBC that he bid $5.6 billion on the Commanders. He however, said he had “to draw a line in the sand” and was effectively out of the bidding.
“I’ll be flat-out honest, I made a bid on the Washington Commanders for $5.6 billion,” said Fertitta. “That’s the value that Forbes holds them at, and at some point you’ve got to draw a line in the sand on everything and that’s where we are.
“If they can get somebody to pay them more than that, good luck to them. That’s all I can say. I own a franchise, so I love them selling for a lot but… I don’t think $6 billion is the right number. Everybody that’s watched me do business for the last 40 years knows when I draw a line in the sand. I’m done.”
With the Washington Commanders about to change hands for the first time in almost 25 years, most fans will be curious to see what changes new ownership makes. There is still the curious situation of the name of the team, the stadium plans and the team’s plight to lock down a franchise quarterback. All things considered, the future is bright for Washington following two decades of on field futility.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.