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The Washington Commanders have a new owner. Last week, NFL owners unanimously approved a group led by Josh Harris to purchase the Commanders from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion.
For two days, the DMV celebrated. Parties were celebrating the end of Snyder’s reign. Harris even called into a local talk radio show and bought everyone in attendance a beer. Harris attended the team’s training camp pep rally on Friday after his introductory press conference.
The day before Harris was officially confirmed as Washington’s new owner, he sat down to chat with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
One of the topics Breer discussed with Harris was his failed pursuit of the Denver Broncos in 2022. Harris, the owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, became a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020. He had assembled an ownership group to buy the Broncos. However, Denver was eventually sold to the Walton-Penner family for $4.65 billion.
Harris had reportedly been willing to bid $5 billion if that would have sealed the deal, but he received no assurances and moved on.
Good things come to those who wait.
When Snyder put the Commanders up for sale in November, Harris’ name was quickly mentioned as a possible buyer. After all, Harris was a Chevy Chase, Md. native who grew up a fan of the team. Harris spoke of his fandom when introduced by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week and at his introductory press conference.
“It a hundred percent feels like a blessing in disguise,” Harris told Breer on not landing the Broncos. “I mean, listen, Denver’s a great franchise, and I’m happy I got to go through that. But at the end of the day, my deep connections to this city are so much stronger. We got a chance to do diligence, and one of the days, we went into FedExField, and we saw all the legends’ names. And I was with my team that had been with me for the Broncos; I was like, God, you got Art Monk and Darrell Green and Joe Gibbs and John Riggins. I’m pointing at all the pictures because of the emotional connections I have. And they’re like, ‘Wow, this is different for you.’ So it was very lucky. It worked out in a very lucky way for me.”
Washington fans are happy Harris is the guy, too. Look, fans would’ve been happy with anyone not named Dan Snyder. However, there are so many reasons to appreciate this Harris group. Not only is Harris a fan, but so are two of his partners, Mitchell Rales and Mark Ein. They have a passion for turning the franchise around. But his success in the business world and as a sports owner is exactly what the Commanders needed.
If there was a perfect match between a team and an owner, it was Harris with the Washington Commanders.