Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Upcoming Event

Best Places to Work in Virginia

Hamburger Menu Hamburger Menu

Tag: Dan Snyder

Snyder, Harris reach agreement on Washington Commanders sale

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has reached an agreement for the reported $6 billion sale of the Ashburn-based NFL team to a group led by Bethesda, Maryland-based billionaire Josh Harris.

News of the sale was posted on the team’s website and on Twitter Friday afternoon.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the Commanders franchise with Josh Harris, an area native, and his impressive group of partners,” Dan and Tanya Snyder said in a statement. “We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”

Harris co-founded Apollo Global Management and owns the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. He and a group including NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Danaher Corp. co-founder Mitchell Rales reached an agreement April 13 for a record-breaking $6 billion sale of the team. Actual terms of the sale were not immediately released Friday afternoon.

Shortly before the team posted the statement to its own account, Johnson tweeted about his own excitement regarding the deal.

“I could not be more excited to be a partner in the proposed new ownership group for the Washington Commanders,” Johnson said in his tweet. “Josh Harris has assembled an amazing group who share a commitment to not only doing great things on the field but to making a real impact in the DMV community. I’m so excited to get to work on executing our vision for the Commanders and our loyal fanbase!”

Snyder, the team’s owner since 1999, and the team’s head office have come under scrutiny by the NFL and Congress for alleged sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. His wife, Tanya, took over as co-CEO of the team in 2021, after the NFL’s $10 million fine of the team for an “improper” and “highly unprofessional” workplace culture. At the time, there seemed to be little appetite among team owners to force the Snyders to sell. According to NFL bylaws, it would take the agreement of 24 team owners to oust another owner.

But in November 2022, Dan and Tanya Snyder hired Bank of America Securities to consider potential sales, the Ashburn-based NFL team announced. Any sale would require approval of three-fourths of the 31 team owners. According to The New York Times, the Harris group must submit its proposal for approval to the NFL’s finance committee, followed by the entire group of owners, who are next set to meet May 22-23 in Minneapolis.

Harris and Rales’s investment group made a failed bid to buy the Denver Broncos last year. That team went to Walmart heir Rob Walton for $4.65 billion, setting a sales record for an NFL sports team.

May 2023 Top Five

The top five most-read daily news stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from March 14 to April 13 included Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder’s efforts to sell the Ashburn-based NFL team to a group of bidders including Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris and NBA legend Magic Johnson.

1  |  Naval operations building in Suffolk sells for $33M

Home to the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command Center of Operations, the building sold to an as-yet-undisclosed buyer. (March 17)

2  |  Virginia ABC announces Secretariat bourbon lottery

Charlottesville-based Ragged Branch Distillery’s Secretariat Reserve Straight Bourbon celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Virginia Thoroughbred’s 1973 Triple Crown sweep. (March 20)

3  |  Va. bankers say they’re not worried by SVB collapse

Following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, Virginia bankers worked to combat misinformation and fear. (March 13)

4  |  Snyders receive two $6B bids for Commanders

As of mid-April, Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder was said to have reached a deal to sell the NFL team for $6 billion, a record price for any sports franchise. (March 28)

5  |  Liberty University appoints new president, chancellor

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Dondi E. Costin will be the Lynchburg Christian university’s next president. Tapped as chancellor was Jonathan Falwell, brother of Jerry Falwell Jr., who resigned as president and chancellor in 2020. (March 31)

Report: Snyder agrees to $6B sale of Commanders

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has agreed to sell the Ashburn-based NFL team for a record-breaking $6 billion, according to several news reports Thursday. The buyers are a group of investors that includes NBA legend Magic Johnson and is led by two Maryland billionaires, Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris and Danaher Corp. co-founder Mitchell Rales.

Sportico, a sports business website, broke the news Thursday afternoon, and The New York Times released a story about half an hour later reporting the purchase agreement, a record-setting amount for any professional sports franchise. In late March, ESPN reported two $6 billion offers for the Commanders, including Harris’ offer and a second bid by Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos.

The team’s reported buyers are a group led by Harris, who is based in Bethesda, Maryland, and also owns the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and Rales of Potomac, Maryland.

In recent days, The Washington Post and others reported that Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, who had previously indicated interest in the team, had decided not to make an offer.

Snyder, the team’s owner since 1999, and the team’s head office have come under scrutiny by the NFL and Congress for alleged sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. His wife, Tanya, took over as co-CEO of the team in 2021, after the NFL’s $10 million fine of the team for an “improper” and “highly unprofessional” workplace culture. At the time, there seemed to be little appetite among team owners to force the Snyders to sell. According to NFL bylaws, it would take the agreement of 24 team owners to oust another owner.

In November 2022, Dan and Tanya Snyder hired Bank of America Securities to consider potential sales, the Ashburn-based NFL team announced. Any sale would require approval of three-fourths of the 31 team owners.

According to The New York Times, the Harris group must submit its proposal to the NFL’s finance committee, followed by the entire group of owners. That could take place in the next several weeks; the owners are set to meet May 22-23 in Minneapolis.

Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management and a Bethesda, Maryland, native, and Rales, a resident of Potomac, Maryland, who is a co-founder of Danaher Corp., are the major funders of the deal, according to reports. The same group, which includes former L.A. Laker Johnson as a limited partner, made a failed bid to buy the Denver Broncos last year. That team went to Walmart heir Rob Walton for $4.65 billion, setting a sales record for an NFL sports team.

Apostolopoulos, the other Commanders bidder, founded Six Ventures Inc., a private equity fund, and is managing partner of the Toronto-based real estate firm Triple Group of Cos. He was previously interested in purchasing the Charlotte Hornets team, ESPN reported.

Of particular interest to Virginians may be the prospect of a future stadium in the commonwealth. Although the General Assembly backed off a generous incentive package to lure the Commanders’ next stadium to Virginia while Snyder and his team were being investigated by Congress and the NFL, a new owner may change the equation. The team has a contract to continue playing at Landover, Maryland’s FedEx Field until the end of the 2026 season, but the team has been open about wanting to build a new stadium. Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed $500,000 in state funding to study ways to encourage the team to build in Northern Virginia, funding that could be included in the state’s 2024 budget.

In December 2022, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform released a report finding that “sexual harassment, bullying and other toxic conduct” took place in the franchise’s operations, and that Dan Snyder attempted to intimidate witnesses in the congressional investigation. The NFL also launched a second probe of the team in February 2022, led by Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Earlier this week, the L.A. Galaxy soccer team announced it had hired the Commanders’ chief creative and digital officer, Will Misselbrook, as its chief creative and content officer.  He was tapped in May 2021 to lead the team’s rebrand after it dropped the name Redskins in favor of the Washington Football Team and later the Commanders.

D.C. AG’s office sues Snyder, Commanders, NFL

Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine announced on Twitter Thursday afternoon that his office is suing the Washington Commanders team, owner Dan Snyder, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the National Football League, accusing the defendants of “colluding to deceive District residents … about an investigation into toxic workplace culture,” referring to the NFL’s 2021 probe into reports of alleged sexual harassment of female employees by team executives, including Snyder.

In a series of tweets, Racine said, “After public reporting revealed that sexual misconduct, harassment and misogyny ran rampant for decades at the team, the defendants promised D.C. residents that the league was going to fix this toxic culture, including by fully cooperating with an independent investigation. That was all a lie.”

The lawsuit was filed in the D.C. Superior Court and seeks injunctive, equitable and declaratory relief; restitution and damages; civil penalties; and attorneys’ fees.

Preceding Thursday’s announcement, the Ashburn-based Commanders team made a statement in which a spokesperson said, “The Commanders have fully cooperated with the [D.C.] AG’s investigation for nearly a year. As recently as Monday, a lawyer for the team met with the AG, who did not suggest at that time that he intended to take any action and, in fact, revealed fundamental misunderstandings of the underlying facts. It is unfortunate that, in his final days in office, Mr. Racine appears more interested in making splashy headlines based on offbeat legal theories, rather than doing the hard work of making the streets safe for our citizens, including bringing to justice the people who shot one of our players.”

Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson was injured in a shooting Aug. 28 in northeast Washington. Two teen suspects have been arrested, according to The Washington Post, and police have said they are searching for a third suspect. After the Commanders’ statement Wednesday, Robinson’s agent, Ryan Williams of Athletes First, tweeted, “Up until an hour ago, the Commanders handled the Brian Robinson situation with so much care, sincerity and class. And I was so grateful for all of it. Although I know that there are some great humans in that building, whoever is hiding behind this statement is not one of them.”

In his statement, Racine, who did not seek reelection this year, said that he is not filing suit against the team or Snyder regarding workplace harassment or misconduct “because these actions largely took place outside the District.” The Commanders’ front office is in Ashburn and the team’s stadium is in Maryland, but Racine said in his statement that D.C. residents represent “the heart of the Commanders’ fanbase” and that the lawsuit is meant to “stand up for D.C. residents who were lied to and deceived.”

The D.C. lawsuit is part of a flurry of activity surrounding Snyder, who may sell the team and hired Bank of America Securities “to consider potential transactions” earlier this month. Among the potential buyers is Amazon.com Inc. Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos, who reportedly may team up with rapper and music mogul Jay-Z and actor Matthew McConaughey. Other people mentioned as having an interest in buying the Commanders are Entertainment Studios Inc. Chairman and CEO Byron Allen, who also tried to buy the Broncos; Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk, who took over Twitter recently for $44 billion;  Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, who also are bidding on the Washington Nationals baseball team; and former Broncos bidders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, according to the Post report.

Meanwhile, the NFL, the U.S. Congress and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares are also investigating the Commanders, as well as the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia, which has opened a criminal probe into alleged financial improprieties by the team. In 2021, the NFL fined the team $10 million, and Snyder ceded day-to-day operations to his wife, Tanya Snyder, who took over as co-CEO.

 

Report: Bezos, Jay-Z could buy Washington Commanders

Could Beyoncé become a regular presence at Washington Commanders games? It’s within the realm of possibility. According to The Washington Post, Amazon.com Inc. founder and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos and billionaire rapper Jay-Z (Beyoncé’s husband) may team up to buy the Ashburn-based NFL team, currently owned by Dan and Tanya Snyder.

On Wednesday, the Commanders announced that the Snyders had hired Bank of America Securities to consider potential offers for the team’s sale, according to a news release. Dan Snyder has been under increasing pressure to sell the team in recent weeks, as both he personally and the team’s head office have been under investigation by the NFL and Congress for alleged sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. Recent leaks from inside the group of NFL team owners indicated that some want Snyder to sell the team, which he’s owned since 1999. Tanya Snyder, his wife, took over as co-CEO of the team in 2021, following the NFL’s $10 million fine of the team, which was formerly known as the Washington Redskins and by the interim Washington Football Team moniker.

Also on Wednesday, ESPN reported that the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Commanders engaged in financial improprieties.

As owner of The Washington Post, Bezos already has considerable ties to the Washington, D.C., region, where he owns a $23 million mansion in the city’s tony Kalorama neighborhood. This fall, Amazon Prime started carrying the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” games. The Post reports that Bezos is interested in bidding for the team, and that Jay-Z, who was part owner of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team and was allegedly eyeing the Denver Broncos NFL team last year, would be part of the bid.

Other people mentioned as having an interest in buying the Commanders are Entertainment Studios Inc. Chairman and CEO Byron Allen, who also tried to buy the Broncos; Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk, who took over Twitter this week for $44 billion;  Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, who also are bidding on the Washington Nationals baseball team; and former Broncos bidders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, according to the Post report.

The Commanders — despite a mediocre record since 1999, when Snyder purchased the team, including no championship wins — are assessed as being worth $5.6 billion, although the price could climb higher, according to estimates.

The announcement that the Snyders are considering selling the team did not specify whether they would sell the entire team or  minority shares in the team. Last year, Snyder purchased his former partners’ shares of the team for $875 million, taking on $450 million in debt, making him the full owner of the Commanders. He had been feuding with co-owners Dwight Schar, Robert Rothman and Frederick Smith, who bought into the team in 2003 but tried to sell their stakes last year, The New York Times reported.

Earlier this year, as Snyder and the team’s front office were accused of sexual misconduct and were the subject of NFL and congressional investigations, Virginia lawmakers backed away from offering a generous incentive package for the Commanders to build a new stadium in Loudoun County or Prince William County, and Maryland and Washington officials have similarly declined to welcome a new stadium to replace FedEx Field in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

April 2022 top five

The top trending major business stories on VirginiaBusiness.com from Feb. 15 to March 14 were led by news that Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder bought Virginia’s most costly home, once part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

1  |  Dan Snyder owns Virginia’s most expensive house

The owner of the Ashburn-based Washington Commanders bought the $48 million River View estate in Alexandria. (Feb. 15)

2  |  DHG to merge with BKD, forming top 10 accounting firm

With 298 employees in Virginia, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP — based in Charlotte, North Carolina — is the fifth-largest accounting firm operating in the commonwealth.  (Feb. 17)

3  |  Virginia ABC announces next Pappy Van Winkle lottery

The state-owned retailer gave customers two windows to win a chance at purchasing five varieties of the highly sought bourbon whiskeys. (March 2)

4  |  Churchill Downs to buy Colonial Downs, Rosie’s parent company

The Kentucky Derby host entered into a $2.4 billion agreement to buy the company that owns Colonial Downs racetrack and six Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums. (Feb. 22)

5  |  Williamsburg’s Midtown Row to be acquired for $122 million

Maryland-based Broad Street Realty Inc. announced plans to buy the mixed-use property near William & Mary. (Feb. 22)

Dan Snyder owns Va.’s most expensive house

Virginia’s most expensive mansion now belongs to one of the most famous men in the commonwealth.

River View, once part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, in Alexandria, was sold on Oct. 29, 2021, for $48 million, according to TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. The agency brokered the sale of the 7-bedroom home with six full bathrooms and six half bathrooms, situated on 16.5 acres on the Potomac River.

The sale was recorded in Fairfax County property records on Nov, 1, 2021, with the seller listed as River View 7979 LLC.

But the actual identity of the buyer was recently revealed in another kind of public record.

The home’s address, 7979 E. Boulevard Drive, matches the one listed with Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder’s $25,000 donation on Jan. 7 to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s inaugural committee, according to campaign finance reports from the State Board of Elections. On the same report, in the box with “business or employment information,” it says “Washington Football Team owner.”

The house is believed to be the most expensive in Virginia and the greater Washington, D.C., region, according to several real estate websites. The home was first listed for $60 million, according to an October 2020 article from Realtor.com. The site also says it is the largest privately held parcel of the former Mount Vernon Estate. It was designed by Bethesda, Maryland-based architecture firm Rill Architects, which displays several photos of the estate on its website.

The estate, constructed by custom home builder West Wing Builders Inc., includes a home gym, spa, indoor resistance pool, steam room and sauna, according to the Sotheby’s listing. It has a game room, a 15-seat movie theater, 400 feet of water frontage and a 2,600-square-foot guest house with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. A carriage house has room for four cars, a studio apartment and a waterfront dock.  It has four fireplaces and was originally built in 2018, according to Fairfax County property records.

The land stayed in President George Washington’s family until 1859 and has had a handful of other owners,  according to a September 2020 Wall Street Journal story. The most recent owners of the estate were former Lockheed Martin Corp. Chairman, President and CEO Robert J. Stevens and his wife, Michelle, who bought the estate for $18.6 million from Tysons Corner developer Gerald “Jerry” Halpin in 2014.