The partnership led by Josh Harris, who co-owns multiple professional sports teams, has entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Washington Commanders owners Dan and Tanya Snyder to buy the franchise, the two sides announced on Friday.
The agreement is subject to NFL approval by a vote of at least three-fourths (24) of the league’s 32 owners.
“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”, Tanya and Dan Snyder said in a statement on Friday. “We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”
In April, the Harris group reached an agreement to purchase the Commanders for a league-record $6.05 billion. At the time, however, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported the sale was not final nor signed and no agreement had been sent to the league for approval.
Friday’s news paves the way for a potential sale approval during the Spring League Meeting this month in Minnesota, Rapoport reported. There will be an update presented to the owners, but if it’s not ready for a final vote, owners would reconvene in the following months for a vote, Rapoport added.
“On behalf of our entire ownership group — including Mitch Rales, my longtime sports business partner David Blitzer and Earvin Magic Johnson I want to express how excited we are to be considered by the NFL to be the next owners of the Washington Commanders and how committed we are to delivering a championship-caliber franchise for this city and its fanbase,” Harris said in a statement on Friday on behalf of his group.
“Growing up in Chevy Chase, I experienced first-hand the excitement around the team, including its three Super Bowl victories and long-term winning culture. We look forward to the formal approval of our ownership by the NFL in the months ahead and to having the honor to serve as responsible and accountable stewards of the Commanders franchise moving forward.”
Harris continued: “We look forward to running a world-class organization and making significant investments on and off the field to achieve excellence and have a lasting and positive impact on the community.”
The NFL said in a statement on Friday that “league staff and the finance committee will review details of the proposed Washington transaction. Any transaction needs to be voted upon by the full membership with 24 of 32 votes needed to approve the sale.”
Snyder, who, along with his wife, Tanya, has owned the Washington franchise since 1999, retained Bank of America Securities in November 2022 to explore a potential sale of the team.
Dan Snyder and the Commanders remain the subject of an internal league investigation led by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White concerning allegations of workplace misconduct and potential unlawful financial conduct. In addition, the franchise recently settled lawsuits with Maryland and the District of Columbia over fans’ season-ticket deposit money.
The NFL hired White to lead the investigation in February 2022 after Snyder was accused of sexual misconduct by a former team employee during a congressional roundtable. Snyder denied the allegations.
White’s investigation came after the league’s initial independent investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson’s firm, which found Washington’s workplace culture to be toxic. Snyder and the team were fined $10 million in July 2021, and the league said he turned day-to-day operations over to his wife, but no written report of Wilkinson’s findings was released.