Dan and Tanya Snyder have finalized an agreement with 76ers and Devils owner co-owner Josh Harris to sell the Commanders, the team announced on Friday.
Harris and his business partners—that include NBA legend Magic Johnson and David Blitzer of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment—reportedly purchased the team for $6.05 billion, according to ESPN. That tops the highest record sale for an NFL team that was previously set by the Broncos in June 2022 when the franchise was sold to Rob Walton—the billionaire heir to superstore chain Walmart—Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner.
The deal is pending the league’s approval—which is expected to take place at the NFL’s owners meeting on May 22 in Minnesota—as well as the completion of the necessary closing conditions, per the team’s statement. The arrangement in the sale will also include FedEx Field as well as the Commanders practice facility.
Friday’s agreement comes nearly a month after the Snyders were close to selling the franchise for a reported price tag of nearly $6 billion. In a joint statement, the Snyders said they were thrilled about the sale of the franchise to Harris, a native of Bethesda, Md. and his “impressive group of partners.”
“We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh [Harris] and the team in the coming years,” the statement read.
Harris wrote that he is excited and “committed” to creating a “championship-caliber franchise” in the nation’s capital.
“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,” Harris said in the team’s statement. “We look forward to the formal approval of our ownership by the NFL in the months ahead… and running a world-class organization and making significant investments on and off the field.”
Prior to the official announcement of the sale on Friday afternoon, a report surfaced that the delay in the Commanders being sold was due to Dan Synder and his legal team pushing the league to not reveal the report about the allegations involving sexual misconduct and financial wrongdoings against him, according to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham.
Mary Jo White, an attorney that was hired by the NFL, conducted an independent investigation into Snyder and the franchise in February ‘22. With White nearing the finish line of the findings in the investigation, expedited private discussions began between Synder’s legal team and the league’s representation regarding the public release of the wrongdoings.
