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.