Topline
The Washington Commanders announced Friday a group of buyers led by billionaire Josh Harris finalized a purchase agreement for the NFL team, ending former owner Dan Snyder’s controversial 24-year run, which was marked by the team’s poor performance as well as sexual misconduct allegations.
Philadelphia 76ers managing Partner Josh Harris is purchasing the Washington Commanders.
Key Facts
The Commanders did not disclose the price of the purchase in a statement confirming the sale, though multiple reports pegged the purchase at $6 billion, which would be the biggest purchase in professional football, surpassing Walmart heir Rob Walton’s $4.6 billion purchase of the Denver Broncos last year.
Harris, who grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, also owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils through the investment group.
Harris purchased the Commanders along with a group of partners, including NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson and investor David Blitzner, who co-founded the investment group, called Harris Blitzner Sports & Entertainment.
In a statement, Snyder said he looks forward to a “prompt completion” of the purchase and “to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”
Key Background
Snyder purchased the Commanders (then known as the Washington Redskins) for $800 million in May 1999, though the team has not advanced to the Super Bowl—or the NFC Championship—during Snyder’s 24 years with the team. Snyder, who hired Bank of America to help him sell the team in November, has also faced multiple scandals, including allegations he silenced female team employees who accused him and other male executives with the team of sexual misconduct, according to a House Committee on Oversight and Reform probe released in December. The team was also ordered in 2021 to pay a $10 million fine by the NFL as a result of an internal investigation into the misconduct allegations, and agreed last month to pay a $625,000 settlement in a lawsuit over the team’s handling of security deposits it failed to return to season ticket holders.
Further Reading
Billionaire Josh Harris Buying Washington Commanders For Record $6 Billion, Reports Say (Forbes)
Billionaire Commanders Owner Dan Snyder Worked To Silence Sexual Misconduct Accusers, House Report Alleges (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/05/12/billionaire-josh-harris-buys-washington-commanders-ending-dan-snyders-controversial-run/