It was earlier this week that the $6 billion pending sale of the Washington Commanders to billionaire Josh Harris was sent to the NFL for review.
The league did not waste any time in conducting an informal review of the sale itself. According to Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, NFL’s powers that be did not find any major issues with the details of the sale.
“The NFL’s informal review of Josh Harris’s tentative $6.05 billion deal to purchase the Washington Commanders found only minor issues that Harris’s group must resolve, leaving the league and team owners confident the deal would be approved if other obstacles related to the sale can be overcome.”
Report on Washington Commanders pending sale
According to Post sources, there are “small holes” in Harris’ proposal that must be dealt with in order to be sent to league owners for ultimate approval.
At this point, Harris — the current owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers — has entered into an unsigned non-exclusive deal to buy the Commanders from embattled outgoing owner Daniel Snyder.
The details of the reported agreement led to previous speculation that D.C. businessman Brian Davis could swoop in with a $7 billion over to outbid Harris and his group.
There’s some skepticism that Davis, a former basketball player at Duke and with the Minnesota Timberwolves, will be able to pull off an upset and buy the Washington Commanders.
Primarily, one individual close to the situation indicates that Davis’ funds come from Middle Eastern countries such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. That creates a whole heck of a lot of issues during the vetting process. At this point, Bank of America is currently reviewing Davis’ offer.
Related: Everything you need to know about new Washington Commanders owners
Timeline for Josh Harris to land the Washington Commanders
The NFL wants to do everything possible to fast track this sale given the drama Snyder has brought to the league in recent years.
It investigated and fined the outgoing owner and his organization for his role in widespread workplace misconduct allegations back in 2021. Meanwhile, there’s separate investigations into allegations of financial wrongdoing on the part of the Snyder-led Washington Commanders. It got to the point recently that some team owners were prepared to force him out of his role as Washington’s owner.
As for Harris, he has a net worth of an estimated $7.77 billion. Harris’ group is also headlined by D.C. billionaire Mitchell Rales as well as Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.
“Harris’s purchase of the Commanders almost certainly will be ratified, the person said, if the deal is properly modified and the issues related to indemnification and the NFL’s second investigation of Snyder and the team can be resolved to the other owners’ satisfaction,” The Washington Post report read.
A total of 24 of the 32 team owners must approve Washington’s sale to Harris. The expectation is that it will happen before the 2023 NFL season kicks off.
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