Tag: 76ers and NJ Devils owner Josh Harris

Washington Commanders and the District reach a settlement

Commanders settle with the District of Columbia on season-ticket lawsuit.

Did Monday provide another clear element of evidence that Washington Commanders Daniel Snyder is indeed selling the franchise?

In summary, the Washington Commanders settled a lawsuit with the District of Columbia attorney general’s office regarding many fans’ ticket deposit money.

Per John Keim of ESPN, the results of this settlement will have the Commanders returning $200,000 to fans of the team who were directly impacted. Secondly, the Commanders will also be paying $425,000 to the city of Washington “to resolve allegations that the team systematically failed to return ticket holders’ deposits and intentionally created barriers for fans to get refunds in violation of district law.”

Snyder and his wife Tanya have cleaned out their offices at the Commanders Ashburn facility evidencing they intend to not return to work. This move to settle the dispute with the District is additional evidence Snyder is ready to move on from the Commanders.

His not appearing at the ceremony retiring the jersey No. 9 of Redskins’ Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen was surprising to many, and looking back became the first evidence that Snyder was ready to go a different direction professionally.

The potential buyers of the Commanders appear to have narrowed to three. Josh Harris with Mitchell Rales and Earvin “Magic” Johnson and others as a majority team. Steve Apostolopoulos, and the ever-possibility of Jeff Bezos swooping in late in the process to make the purchase.

Does today’s move by Snyder exhibit he does not want a legal fight in these last days of ownership? Is Daniel Snyder ready to now sign on the dotted line to sell the Commanders ending his ownership era, which began in 1999?

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Who is potential new Commanders owner Steve Apostolopoulos?

Apostolopoulos reportedly confident in his bid for the Commanders.

Commanders fans want to know, “Who is Steve Apostolopoulos?”

A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports did a fine job of introducing us to Apostolopoulos. What follows here is only the short-hand version.

One of Canada’s wealthiest families, Apostolopoulos is a Toronto native. Reports surfaced this week that his bid of $6 billion for the Commanders was fully-funded.

Though the Josh Harris group has also bid nearly $6 billion, Apostolopoulos is confident in his finances and position related to his bid.

Bloomberg reported Apostolopoulos is a Harvard graduate, which was found to be inaccurate, and has since corrected its inaccurate report.

When his father Andreas Apostolopoulos died in 2021, his son Steve was said to be worth $3 billion at the time. Andreas made his money founding a real estate conglomerate, while Steve founded Caary, a business credit card company.

Bank of America, leading the process of the sale of the Commanders, has reportedly vetted Apostolopoulos’ bid.

Jeff Bezos, who has been discussed more than Apostolopoulos and Harris combined, for the record, has yet to submit an official bid for the Commanders.

Apostolopoulos has also been linked to being a potential purchaser of not only the Commanders but also the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

Potential Commanders owner Josh Harris labeled a ‘value investor’

Some interesting observations on potential new Commanders owner Josh Harris.

So you are all excited about Josh Harris repeatedly being named as the next probable owner of the Washington Commanders?

On Tuesday, one radio host was putting the skids on Harris, warning he might not be what the Commanders need in an owner after all.

Jason Bishop co-host of the Sports Junkies (106.7 The Fan), said Tuesday that “I’ve got a well-placed source, and I won’t say who; that said, ‘Josh Harris if he is the one who gets the team, is super-duper cheap’.”

“If he is the one who gets it (Commanders), he does have that reputation,” expressed Bishop.

John-Paul Flaim quickly asserted that the 76ers used to be a losing franchise, but they have really turned it around in the last few years with Harris as the owner. To which Bishop unhesitatingly countered, “Ok, that’s because their scouts and people drafting did a good job. That’s not necessarily because of the owner (Harris).”

Sportico’s sports business reporter Eben Novy-Williams, a guest on the Kevin Sheehan Show (The Team 980) gave context on Harris’ tendencies as an investor.

“Josh Harris is a notorious value investor,” expressed Williams. “He has been a runner-up in some of the biggest sports teams sales in history because he is not someone who raises his price to get an asset.”

Williams pointed to Harris being recently outbid to purchase the Mets and Broncos. “He looks at an asset and says, ‘This is what it is worth, and that is what I am going to pay for it.’ “That is not the way you buy sports teams now,” countered Williams. “The NFL is becoming much too expensive. Consequently, less and less wealthy people are even able to purchase a team.”

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Commanders fans, media react to potential end of Dan Snyder era

Washington fans and media reacted to the latest on Dan Snyder Saturday night.

There was some breaking news on Saturday night that Daniel Snyder no longer owns the Washington Commanders!

Then an hour later, we read that this is untrue and premature. What is the truth?

Specifically, the alleged news was that Josh Harris had reportedly purchased the Commanders for $6 billion.

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions on Saturday night, and some are hilarious.

Commanders owner Daniel Snyder now may not sell?

Dan Snyder reportedly “benched” Jeff Bezos from Commanders’ sale.

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos reportedly hired an investment firm to explore a potential bid for the Washington Commanders.

One day later, the New York Post was reporting that current owner Daniel Snyder may not be selling the Commanders after all.

Reports in the process of accepting bids had been that bids had reached $6.3 billion. But the NY Post is now reporting that is not the case at all. They are countering that bids came in under the $6 billion mark. It is no secret Snyder stated he wanted $7 Billion in the purchase.

The NY Post is declaring that 76ers and NJ Devils owner Josh Harris offered a bid of around $5.5 billion, as did a second bidder who, at this time, remains unidentified.

Meanwhile, the NY Post continues that Snyder is still holding a grudge against Bezos for the Washington Post reports of a toxic workplace environment out at the Ashburn facility.

Consequently, it is believed that Snyder has now gone as far as preventing Bezos from entering the bidding for the Commanders, though Bezos is himself reportedly worth more than $100 Billion.

Thus, the bids are disappointingly lower than Snyder’s expectations or demands. Does he actually continue to hold out, refusing to permit Bezos to officially enter the bidding?

Does the NFL counter with a move because they clearly believe the DMV market needs a new owner, as Snyder has definitely lost much of the fanbase in the last decade?

How much is the Commanders’ franchise worth? You actually never learn what something is worth by what people say it is worth. You wait and see what someone actually pays for it with their own money.