An investment group led by Josh Harris has an agreement in place to purchase the Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion, several reports said Thursday.
The deal is not yet signed and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos remains in the running, per the reports.
Any deal accepted would be an agreement in principle and could be finalized only with approval of NFL owners, who are scheduled to meet in Minneapolis on May 22.
Commanders owner Dan Snyder and the Harris group — which includes billionaire Mitchell Rales and NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson — are still in dialogue but ESPN was first to report Apostolopoulos remained in the running.
Harris, whose Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment owns the New Jersey Devils (NHL) and Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), is a native of the Washington, D.C., area and was considered a front-runner to land the Commanders. He also owns a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers, which he will need to sell in order to buy the Commanders.
The price tag of $6.05 billion would smash the previous record sale for a North American sports franchise, set last August after Walmart heir Rob Walton purchased the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion.
ESPN reported last month that Snyder received a pair of $6 billion offers. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who was rumored to be in the mix, did not submit an offer, multiple media outlets reported.
In August, Forbes valued the Commanders at $5.6 billion, sixth among the NFL’s 32 teams. Snyder also owns FedEx Field and the 264-acre property that surrounds it, plus the 150-acre team headquarters in Ashburn, Va.
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta also was in the mix to purchase the club Snyder has owned since 1999.
“I’ll be flat-out honest,” Fertitta told CNBC on Thursday. “I made a bid on the Washington Commanders for $5.6 billion. That’s the value that Forbes had 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. … I don’t think $6 billion is the right number.”
Harris and Rales have net worths of $5.8 and $5.5 billion, respectively, according to Forbes. The net worth of Apostolopoulos is unknown.
If and when a sale is finalized, it would bring an end to Snyder’s contentious 24-year ownership of the once-proud Washington franchise.
Snyder was the subject of multiple investigations by both the NFL and Congress on topics ranging from financial improprieties to a toxic workplace. Snyder, who long said he would never sell the team he purchased for $750 million in 1999, began exploring a sale of the team in November amid growing calls for him to be removed from the league.
Attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represented more than 40 former Washington team employees accusing the team of a toxic work culture with rampant sexual harassment, released a statement marking the likely end of Snyder’s time in the NFL.
“We are proud of our many clients who made this moment possible — the brave women and men who came forward repeatedly and at great personal risk to expose the decades of sexual harassment and financial wrongdoing at the team. Their determination and perseverance forced this sale to happen,” the statement read in part.
–Field Level Media
