The process of finding a new owner for the Washington Commanders has entered a new phase.
According to multiple reports, a group led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales — and including Lakers legend Magic Johnson — has submitted a fully financed bid for the franchise, now owned by the embattled Daniel Snyder. ESPN, citing an unnamed source, has reported the group has met Snyder’s $6-billion asking price.
ESPN also is reporting that Canadian developer Steve Apostolopoulos has submitted a bid of $6 billion.
Speculation about new owners has been percolating since November, when Daniel and Tanya Snyder announced they had hired Bank of America to begin the process of potentially selling part or all of the team.
The anticipated sale of the Commanders, which requires approval of three-quarters of the other 31 clubs, is a major topic at the annual league meetings. The Denver Broncos were the last NFL franchise to change hands, selling for a record $4.65 billion in August.
The widely unpopular Snyder is at the center of multiple investigations into the running of his team. According to a congressional report released in December, Snyder “permitted and participated” in the club’s pervasive and toxic work culture, worked to dissuade and intimidate witnesses from cooperating in a 14-month inquiry and claimed more than 100 times in testimony that he could not recall answers to basic questions.
In July 2021, the NFL fined the then-Washington Football Team $10 million and required that Snyder relinquish day-to-day operations of the franchise for several months after an independent investigation found the club’s workplace “highly unprofessional,” particularly for women. At that point, the team had been under investigation for a year stemming from dozens of sexual harassment allegations by previous employees over a 15-year period.
Although a sale of the Commanders could require weeks or even months, there’s a possibility a vote could take place at the league’s May meetings in Minnesota.
Harris owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and teamed with Rales, a Maryland billionaire originally from Pittsburgh. Johnson owns a minority share of the Dodgers and long has expressed interest in being part of an NFL ownership group.
