We are only days away from NFL owners meeting and voting on the sale of the Washington Commanders from Daniel Snyder to Josh Harris for $6.05 billion.
On Monday, a significant step in the Commanders sale occurred when the NFL finance committee met virtually and informally voted to recommend approval of Harris’ $6.05 billion-dollar bid to purchase the franchise, according to Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
Why is this significant? Due to the large number of Harris’ minority partners, there were more complexities in this purchase than in previous team sales. The money was never an issue for the Harris group, but the NFL finance committee noted some tweaks would need to be made.
Something else of interest in the Post’s report was that Snyder recently met with Mary Jo White as her investigation nears completion. The report could be released soon, with Harris expected to take over by Friday.
We are merely days away from Washington having a new owner.
Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales met with the NFL finance committee Wednesday and it was regarded as a positive meeting.
Do we finally have an end in sight for the sale of the Washington Commanders?
According to a new report from Nicki Jhabvala and Mark Maske of The Washington Post, prospective owners Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales met with the NFL finance committee in New York. The meeting was productive and positive, which could lead to NFL owners approving Harris’ $6.05 billion deal with Daniel Snyder as soon as next month.
“It was very positive,” a source told Jhabvala and Maske. “It went really well. It’s not done yet. But unless something crazy happens, it’s going to get done, and it will get approved.”
The Post noted that barring anything unforeseen, the sale is advancing toward ratification, which could come next month. NFL teams report to training camp in July, meaning Harris and his group would be in place before the start of the 2023 NFL season.
This is significant as head coach Ron Rivera has said the team’s current ownership situation is preventing the team from making any significant deals. That means the Commanders can’t open contract negotiations with players they would love to extend, such as Kamren Curl and Montez Sweat, among others.
The NFL’s concerns were allegedly due to how the Harris group structured the deal, as it was significantly above the NFL’s $1.1 billion debt limit. Harris has agreed to restructure the deal, as he and his multiple partners are worth well over $100 combined.
The NFL — and Washington fans — are finally getting what they’ve wanted all along: Commanders owner Daniel Snyder is selling the team.
It became official Friday when a statement from Snyder and his wife/co-owner, Tanya, confirmed that, yes, he was selling the team to a group led by Josh Harris. Others confirmed, with statements from Harris and two of his partners, Mark Ein and Magic Johnson, and legendary Washington head coach Joe Gibbs.
While there have been many ups and downs throughout this process, with fans wondering if Snyder would ultimately decide to keep the team, that’s not happening. But there have been hurdles outside of Snyder, mainly the NFL’s stringent rules on new potential owners.
One of those rules requires the new primary owner — in this case, Harris — to pay 30% down in cash. That’s not an easy task unless you’re the Walton family or Jeff Bezos. However, Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils is worth well over $7 billion, while his primary partner, Mitchell Rales, is worth over $6 billion. In addition, Harris has a super-impressive list of investors that also includes Ein, Johnson, the Santo Domingo family, Eric Schmidt and others.
But according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Harris and Rales “may be taking on more than the allowable amount of debt to purchase the team.” This means while the NFL would love to approve the sale tomorrow, it’s not quite that easy as the NFL Finance Committee must vet each of Harris’ partners. Harris, of course, was vetted last year when he was runner-up to the Walton-Penner family for the Denver Broncos.
Breer thinks this Commanders’ purchase highlights some of the flaws in the NFL’s current setup and it could change for future team purchases.
But this sale could be the one that changes how NFL rules read on buying a franchise, mostly because the prices of the teams, in 2023, have skyrocketed to the point where the pool of potential buyers is pretty microscopic. And if guys such as Harris and Rales aren’t ready to pony up the actual cash needed to finish a sale like this one inside the NFL guardrails, that’d probably be a pretty good sign that change should be afoot soon.
Something to keep in mind with the Harris group, they will also be funding a new stadium. So, while they are purchasing the Commanders for $6.05 billion, it’s actually much more considering the work in front of them.
What is clear is that this is an impressive group full of successful businessmen, two of whom [Harris and Johnson] have had success as professional sports owners. The future is full of promise for the Commanders and their long-suffering fans.
Friday, May 12 a new stage in the process was reached. This was an exclusive deal with the Harris Group, and the amount of $6.05 billion was confirmed.
Though his office was cleaned out at the Ashburn facility months ago, though there were multiple reports that Mr. Snyder was moving forward toward an actual sale of the team, up to that point the one person we had not heard from that Snyder was absolutely selling was Daniel Snyder himself. That statement finally arrived on May 12.
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) May 12, 2023
Next, the NFL Finance Committee will look at the particulars of the deal and then recommend it to the other owners for a vote. A vote in the affirmative for the sale to the Harris group will require the approval of at least three-fourths (24) of the league’s 32 owners.
Questions remain regarding the Mary Jo Wright report. Don Van Natta Jr. reported Friday that Snyder is seeking to limit the release of Mary Jo White’s report. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has previously stated that there will be a written report made public.
Daniel Wallach, Legal Analyst at the Athletic stated Friday that White “has told lawyers and witnesses involved in the case that she expects her entire report to be made public, not just her findings.”
There may always remain uncertainty regarding Snyder’s personal involvement in sexual harassment. It is very difficult to prove in cases where it has occurred. Yet, the sexual harassment that was too often in the facility does indeed fall under his watch. He was the boss, the owner. “The buck stops here” does apply in leadership. As has often been said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
The NFL is going to want to see this sale finalized. They desire the removal of Daniel Snyder.
It’s difficult for Washington NFL fans to be patient regarding this, but they might as well because the process is still continuing further down the road, though perhaps not as quickly as most would like.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Commanders Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
