Daniel Snyder will soon no longer be the owner of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. While the league’s owners still need to approve the deal, the embattled Snyder has officially entered into an agreement to sell the Commanders to a group headed by billionaire Josh Harris.
“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.”
Statement from Washington Commanders co-owners Daniel Snyder and Tanya Snyder
It was back in April that Harris’ group entered into a nonbinding agreement to purchase the Commanders from Snyder. Nothing was guaranteed on that front until the two signed on the dotted line. Said deal is expected to be valued at $6.05 billion, the largest for a North American professional sports team in history.
The current owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, Harris also released a statement.
“On behalf of our entire ownership group – including Mitchel 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 sits and its fanbase.”
Related: Getting to know the new Washington Commanders owners
Washington Commanders sale to Josh Harris still must be approved
It must be noted that NFL owners, by a two-thirds majority, must approve the sale of the Commanders from Snyder to Harris’ group.
There’s a bit of a hiccup in this regard as the league’s finance committee raised some concerns over the financials of the sale. This could delay official approval of the deal. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had noted that he expected something to get done by the end of May.
With that said, the releases we’re seeing Friday afternoon in relation to the sale seem to indicate something is going to happen sooner rather than later.
“I could not be more excited to be a partner in the proposed new ownership group for the Washington Commanders. Josh Harris has assembled an amazing group who share a commitment to not only doing great things on the field but to making a real impact in the DMV community,” Magic Johnson said in a statement on Twitter. “I’m so excited to get to work on executing our vision for the Commanders and our loyal fanbase.”
There are said to be 17 limited partners with Harris owning 30% and Johnson owning 4%. As for the other big hitters here, Mitchell Rales is the founder of Glenstone and the Danaher Corporation. He’s said to have a net worth of $5.6 billion and is bringing a lot to the table from a financial perspective.
Stay tuned to Sportsnaut for further updates on this developing story. For now, it appears that Daniel Snyder will soon be out of the NFL with Harris taking his place as the principal owner of the Washington Commanders.
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