It appears that a sale of the Washington Commanders franchise is closer to becoming a reality.
According to Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, the NFL conducted an informal review of Josh Harris’ tentative $6.05 billion bid to purchase the franchise and found “no major issues.” Because of this, league and team owners are “confident” a deal for the team would eventually be approved.
The ratification of a sale requires approval from a minimum of 24 out of 32 owners, and it seems things are on the right track. The league’s review reportedly uncovered “only minor issues that Harris’s group must resolve.”
Maske and Jhabvala noted that a source said that “there are ‘small holes’ in Harris’s unsigned, nonexclusive deal with Commanders owner Daniel Snyder that Harris and his investment group can address relatively easily.”
The source added that the sale to Harris “almost certainly” will be ratified, but only “if the deal is properly modified and the issues related to indemnification and the NFL’s second investigation of Snyder and the team can be resolved to the other owners’ satisfaction.”
Harris is also the governor of the Philadelphia 76ers and the owner of New Jersey Devils. His investment group includes billionaire industrial firm founder Mitchell Rales and basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, according to A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports.
A sale for $6.05 billion would set a new record for an NFL franchise, surpassing last year’s $4.65 billion sale of the Denver Broncos to a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton. Harris was involved in that bidding process as well but came up short.
Maske and Jhabvala noted that Canadian real estate developer and private equity executive Steve Apostolopoulos remains active in the bidding. However, it looks like Harris will be able to close the deal this time.
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