Tag: Team Sale

Report: Josh Harris to meet with NFL finance committee next week

Could the NFL owners look to approve Harris’ bid soon?

Could we finally be nearing an official end to Daniel Snyder’s tenure as owner of the Washington Commanders?

We know Snyder has a signed deal in place to sell the franchise to a group led by Josh Harris — owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. However, we also know the NFL has some concerns about Harris’ $6.05 billion bid, primarily due to the number of minority partners.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones each expect the deal to get done sooner rather than later.

How soon?

According to Nicki Jhabvala and Mark Maske of The Washington Post, Harris is expected to meet with the NFL’s finance committee next Wednesday, where he is expected to make any necessary adjustments to his bid for the Commanders.

After the NFL owners meetings last month, a target date emerged for a possible vote. Some believed the owners could bring Harris’ bid to a vote in either late July or August.

If Harris makes the necessary adjustments, at least in the eyes of the finance committee, could a vote come sooner?

Here’s this from Jhabvala and Maske:

Those assurances by Harris have buoyed optimism that Harris’s record-setting purchase of the Commanders from owner Daniel Snyder will be recommended by the finance committee and ratified by the owners in the coming weeks, according to those people.

While a firm date hasn’t been established, perhaps this quote could bring more confidence:

“It’s not done yet,” one of the sources told Jhabvala and Maske. “It’s not concluded. But it’s headed in that direction. It’s in that 90-percent-plus range now.”

At this point, Washington fans are tired of hearing that a sale is “coming soon.” Everyone knows it’s happening, and the hope is it will be before Week 1. Head coach Ron Rivera again confirmed this week that any big deals are on hold due to the ownership situation.

If the Commanders’ sale becomes official in the coming weeks, could Washington work to get some of its upcoming free agents, specifically safety Kamren Curl, signed to an extension?

It should be an interesting few weeks surrounding the Commanders as we enter a quiet period in the NFL later this month before teams report to training camp in late July.

 

Report: Josh Harris’ group must change financing for NFL owners to approve Commanders’ deal

However, any “tweaks” shouldn’t hold up the timeline for the sale of the Commanders.

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Another day and another twist in the saga of the sale of the Washington Commanders.

We know Josh Harris and Daniel Snyder have struck a deal, and that deal is currently in the hands of the NFL Finance Committee before taking to owners for a vote. Earlier this week, we learned late that vote could take place in late July or early August, meaning Harris and his partners could be in place as Washington’s new owners before Week 1.

Multiple NFL owners and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the Commanders’ sale at NFL owners meetings, and all said there was work that needed to be done, but things were trending in a positive direction.

On Friday, Mike Ozanian of Forbes reported that Harris’ group would need to change financing in order for the NFL owners to approve the deal.

Some of the league owners are concerned that as the deal currently stands, Harris’ group would finance the purchase with a down payment of $5.85 billion that would include $3.75 billion of equity, $1.1 billion of secured debt and $1 billion of unsecured debt. In addition, Snyder would get 50% of the incremental increase in the Commander’s gross revenue over the subsequent two years that will be paid out of the team’s cash flow. (Snyder thinks the two parties will split $400 million while Harris believes $200 million will be split down the middle.) Add that all up, and you get the total purchase price of $6.05 billion.

Then there was this:

Another concern: The NFL limits the number of investors in a team to 25—a general partner who must own at least 30% of the team (in this instance, Harris) and 24 limited partners. As the deal is currently configured, there are more than 24 limited partners when the investors within the various LP groups are counted, according to people familiar with the agreement.

In Ozanian’s story, someone close to the Harris group offered the following statement on the number of investors.

A person close to the Harris group who refused to respond to questions from Forbes prior to this article’s publication subsequently responded by saying “there is no unsecured debt and there are 21 individual investors, including Josh Harris.”

It’s worth noting that Ozanian is the one who first reported that Snyder had put the Commanders up for sale in early November.

Shortly after, A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, who has also accurately reported on the Commanders’ sale multiple times, said any “tweaks” to Harris’ $6.05 billion agreement to buy the team aren’t expected “to derail the timeline of approval.”

“Any adjustments required to the bid are modest and manageable,” Perez wrote as he received the quote from a source.

Another update from Perez noted that Harris has 20 partners [21 with Harris], which is under the NFL limit and in line with what the Harris source told Forbes. 

Perez closed his story with another quote from one of his sources.

The bid was thoughtfully structured and compliant with NFL rules.

The stories from both Forbes and FOS match what the NFL owners and Goodell said earlier this week. 

Washington fans are probably tired of hearing these updates and are just ready for this to be over with. 

Report: Josh Harris believes change in ownership will solve Commanders’ financial woes

Essentially everything will get better once this thing is final.

On Friday, a group led by Josh Harris finalized a deal to purchase the Washington Commanders from Daniel Snyder. All that stands between Harris becoming the next owner of the Commanders is his approval from at least 24 NFL owners, which is viewed as a formality.

ESPN recently obtained a prospectus prepared by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and its advisers, and it’s packed full of information.

Per John Keim and Seth Wickersham, who authored the story, Harris believes the removal of Snyder as the owner will boost attendance, ticket sales and sponsorship revenue. Current Washington team president Jason Wright stated something similar recently, even acknowledging that Snyder and his wife Tanya realize that new ownership would be good for business.

In this instance, it’s not surprising that anyone believes removing Snyder would be good for business. Sure, it could be difficult for Harris and his group to win back all of the fans Snyder’s ownership ran off, but people will return.

Washington’s home attendance at FedEx Field tanked to No. 31 in 2021 and was dead last in 2022. However, as late as 2017 — 18 years into Snyder’s ownership — Washington ranked No. 6 in home attendance. And yes, a lot of those fans at FedEx Field over the past 10+ years were opposing fans, but there are ways new ownership can change that trend. Above all, winning would change everything.

In the ESPN story from Harris’ prospectus, Harris believes Washington fans are “disengaged.” He’s right. While it’s easy to point to constant drama and investigations into Snyder, it goes beyond that. It’s the constant losing, the overpromising and underdelivering, and the name change. This isn’t another debate on whether or not Washington should rebrand, but you can’t simply say that the name change hasn’t kept some fans away.

When you add everything together, disengaged may not be a strong enough word. However, Harris and his group enter at the perfect time. He’s a hero the moment this thing is final for one simple reason: He isn’t Snyder.

Harris’s success as a professional sports owner, in addition to his — and his partners’ — business acumen, should give Washington fans actual hope again.

Commanders sale to Josh Harris could change future NFL team purchases

The Commanders’ sale could mean big changes in the future when teams are up for sale.

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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. 

Report: Magic Johnson recently met with Maryland Governor before Commanders’ sale was finalized

Could the Commanders remain in Maryland past 2027?

Shortly after the news broke Friday afternoon that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder had agreed to sell the franchise to Josh Harris, one of Harris’ partners, NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson sent out the following tweet.

As it turns out, before Harris’ deal with Snyder was finalized, Magic was already at work, per A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports. Perez has been front and center throughout Washington’s sale process and reported late Sunday night that while it was unclear what the two discussed, Johnson met with Maryland Governor Wes Moore met only days before Harris reached an agreement with Snyder.

This comes as Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland are all ready to potentially make their individual cases to build the next Commanders’ stadium.

Shortly after the Commanders released a statement Friday from Dan and Tanya Snyder confirming they had agreed to sell the franchise to Harris and his group, Moore’s press secretary, Carter Elliott, responded with the following tweet.

We know Washington, D.C. wants the franchise back in the District, but that’s complicated. Maryland wants the team to remain, but FedEx Field is an issue. The Commanders’ lease expires in 2027 but could be renewed.

Before things went south for Snyder last year, Virginia was ready to do help build a stadium in The Commonwealth.

Snyder had no options remaining, which was a big issue with fellow NFL owners. With a new ownership group that has deep local ties, everything is back on the table.

And for Josh Harris, it’s good to have Magic Johnson on your side.

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spoke to prospective new Commanders owner Josh Harris last week

Goodell spoke to Harris a day before news broke of Snyder’s preliminary agreement to sell the franchise.

Fans of Washington’s NFL franchise — new and old — were ready to celebrate last week when news broke that owner Daniel Snyder had agreed in principle to sell the Commanders to a group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris.

However, the deal was far from done, as it was considered non-exclusive, meaning Snyder could still entertain other bids. Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos still believed he was in the mix at the time the news broke regarding Harris.

In Peter King’s weekly column for NBC Sports titled “Football Morning in America,” he gave Washington fans more hope when he said Harris spoke with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last Wednesday. It was Thursday when the news hit that Snyder and Harris had reached a preliminary deal.

Why would this be significant?

From King:

When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the leader of the prospective new-owner group, Josh Harris, spoke on Wednesday, no one knew exactly what the topic was. But as one ownership source told me over the weekend, “Calls like that would be Harris saying he had a tentative deal with Snyder.” I believe that’s likely, and word spread through ownership circles that, basically, Ding dong, the witch is dead. Snyder’s selling!

There you have it.

Everyone knows Snyder is selling, and it’s happening soon. And it certainly sounds like Harris is inching closer to becoming Washington’s next owner.

Ron Rivera expressed ‘relief’ over Commanders’ expected sale

Rivera discusses his initial thoughts on the Commanders’ expected sale.

When Ron Rivera was hired as the head coach of the then-Washington Redskins at the conclusion of the 2019 season, he likely never could’ve predicted how the next three years would be for him personally and professionally.

Before Rivera ever coached a game in Washington, the team changed its name. There were investigations into owner Daniel Snyder, which have since multiplied, and the team changed its name again last February.

Oh, and in Rivera’s first season, he battled cancer while leading Washington to an NFC East title.

Through everything, Rivera has continued to lead the Commanders despite the constant uncertainty regarding the ownership situation.

On Thursday, Snyder reached an agreement to sell the Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris, which includes NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, for $6.05 billion. It’s important to note the deal is nonexclusive and hasn’t yet been signed, meaning someone can still top Harris’ bid.

Regardless, the end of the Snyder regime is near.

For Rivera, who has been operating under the “business-as-usual” approach, it’s a relief.

“Kind of relief,” Rivera told Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY Friday.

“It really seemed like a load was lifted, because everybody was on pins and needles for the last couple of months,” Rivera continued. “You kind of wondered what was going to happen.”

Rivera wasn’t saying this to disrespect Snyder. Instead, Rivera, like team president Jason Wright explained at the NFL owners meetings last month, everyone, including the Snyder family, is ready to move forward.

Washington fans couldn’t agree more with Rivera.

Don’t count Jeff Bezos out from buying the Commanders just yet

A new report suggests Bezos and Dan Snyder spoke in December.

We are getting late in the process of the sale for the Washington Commanders. The NFL wants it done. And, apparently, owners Dan and Tanya Snyder are looking forward to it being over, too.

One man keeping the process alive is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

No, Bezos isn’t officially holding up the process; his lack of involvement thus far has been the biggest mystery since the Commanders went up for sale in November.

Will Bezos place a bid? Is he even allowed to place a bid? Remember the reports from earlier this year that Dan Snyder was now allowing Bezos to enter the bidding process? Not true, says a source close to Snyder.

Snyder’s animus toward Bezos comes from Bezos owning The Washington Post. The Washington Post has broken many of the stories concerning the organization’s toxic workplace under Snyder’s ownership.

While Bezos has yet to bid on the Commanders, he reportedly hired Allen & Company, an investment firm known for being involved in the transactions of professional sports franchises. Why would he do that if he wasn’t at least considering a bid on the Commanders?

Now comes a report from Theodore Schleifer of Puck that suggests things are far from over regarding Bezos potentially buying the Commanders.

Schleifer covers a lot of bases regarding Bezos and his potential interest in the Commanders, including how in 2021, he had his close business associate “poke around the team.”

Check out this excerpt from Schleifer’s story:

His interest was not merely an idle fancy—he was absolutely intrigued, I’m told. Bezos could have done this himself, but in a sign of his commitment, he decided to hire a team at Allen & Co.—Steve Greenberg, Terry Morris and Mike Melnitzky—to explore an offer. The Allen sports team lacks extensive buy-side experience, as several peers noted, but are known for their discretion. Bezos and Allen were granted a nondisclosure agreement to peruse the team’s financials (although Bezos, unlike other NDA’d prospective buyers, didn’t tour the facilities). According to a person briefed on the conversation, Bezos also spoke directly with Snyder sometime around the holidays.

Did you catch that last part? Snyder and Bezos spoke around the holidays. That seems like a fairly large deal. Something else to note, which isn’t breaking news, Bezos and his potential interest in the franchise hasn’t leaked to the media.

We know of three bids for the Commanders: the Josh Harris group, featuring Mitchell Rales and Magic Johnson; Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta. Harris is the clear favorite — until he isn’t. What that means is if Bezos enters the bidding, it’s his team. 

Will that happen? With a deadline of May 22, Bezos has plenty of time. Schleifer does an outstanding job of highlighting why Bezos has chosen to remain out of the early bidding for the Commanders. 

If Bezos wants the Commanders, he’ll own the Commanders.

Magic Johnson talks potential Commanders’ sale

Magic sounds excited at the prospect of co-owning the Commanders.

NBA legend Magic Johnson was on NBC’s Today Show Tuesday and confirmed that, yes, he is indeed a part of Josh Harris’ bid to buy the Washington Commanders.

“Our bid is in,” Johnson said. “We hope that we win. We don’t know what’s going to happen. So, we’ll see what happens with Mr. Snyder making that decision. But we’re excited about it.”

“You own a lot of teams,” host Savannah Guthrie asked Johnson.

“Well, that’s the last thing, right? Johnson responded. “You have the Dodgers, the Sparks; we have LAFC soccer; we won the championship this season, that was great. So, we’ll see what happens.”

Johnson is part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers [MLB], Los Angeles Sparks [WNBA], and Los Angeles Football Club [MLS]. Last month, it was reported that he joined Harris and Mitchell Rales in their bid to buy the Commanders.

Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post had more from Johnson.

While there is no timetable for when Snyder makes a decision on the next owner, Harris and his group, remain the favorites.

 

The ‘finish line is in sight’ for sale of the Commanders

More positive signs regarding the Commanders’ sale ending soon.

It’s not a secret anymore: Daniel Snyder is selling the Washington Commanders. Team president Jason Wright confirmed the obvious last week, even admitting he’d be glad when it was over.

Wright’s admission was the first from a high-ranking official that the team was indeed for sale. Wright even said Dan Snyder and his wife, co-owner, Tanya, would also be happy when it was over.

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, “the finish line is in sight” for the sale of the Commanders. And Breer, like others, continues to believe Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris ends up being Washington’s new owner.

Breer thinks things could be over in May at the next league meetings.

That said, there’s a good level of confidence that we’ll get a vote in May. Harris, or whoever the buyer winds up being, would have to be approved by the finance committee first. After that, an exclusive negotiating window would open to finalize the structure of a deal, and the owners would vote once everything is buttoned up. There are still some nerves among NFL power brokers that Snyder will back out at the last moment. But most think it’s happening.

Harris was one of two bids submitted for the Commanders recently at around $6 billion. Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos is the other known bidder. Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta previously submitted a bid of around $5.5 billion.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos still hasn’t formally submitted a bid for the Commanders, and it’s unknown if he will.

As Breer noted, the good news about Harris is he’s already been vetted by the NFL. He was interested in buying the Denver Broncos last year. That speeds up the potential sale if Snyder chooses Harris.

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