One step closer to a sale
There has been a lot of news to catch up on over the last few days, and a lot of distractions that should be ignored(looking at you Brian Davis). The Josh Harris group continues to stay on track as the next owners of the Washington Commanders, and we are getting more details about their bid, and who else will be investing in the franchise. They submitted a bid to Dan Snyder for $6.05 billion that was accepted by the Snyders, but it is non-exclusive, and nothing has been signed. There are several steps that will need to happen before the other NFL owners will be able to vote to approve the sale.
Harris sent his bid to the NFL for an informal review, which is considered an unusual step for this type of sale, but any business transaction with Dan Snyder is not expected to go smoothly. The fact that Snyder is effectively being kicked out of one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, and his antagonistic stance towards his former “friends” makes this even more of a delicate situation. Snyder has been dealing with investigations from multiple fronts, and has finally decided to take his payout and sail away to England.
Those investigations have already lead to fines from the NFL, the state of Maryland, and the District of Columbia. There is still another investigation from the NFL, another lawsuit from D.C., and a federal investigation over allegations of financial improprieties. Snyder has reportedly demanded indemnification from future lawsuits and settlements from the NFL and potential buyers. Harris reportedly agreed to partly indemnify Snyder, but there haven’t been many details about what that would cover.
That was one potential complication from a deal that many people thought would never happen. The structure of the payments was also a potential issue that needed to be worked out. Forbes reported that Dan Snyder will get $5.8 billion as soon as the deal is completed, but the remaining $250 million will be paid out over the following two years. The Washington Post also had some details on some small details that need to be fixed by the Harris group.
According to the person with knowledge of the NFL’s inner workings, the Harris group’s preliminary deal does not account for a small portion of the funding, potentially putting the bid slightly above the debt limit. But the person noted that the deal is not finalized or signed and said: “They can clean that up. I don’t think he’s been asked to do it yet.”
They also reported on the ownership structure with the three big names that have been reported for weeks.
Under the Commanders proposal, which is non-binding at the moment, Harris would own 30% of the NFL team and be the managing partner. There would be 17 limited partners, the biggest of which would be Michael Rales, who would own 12%. NBA legend Magic Johnson would be in for 4%.
Another local billionaire has reportedly joined the Josh Harris group.
And Washington Redskins Hall of Fame Head Coach Joe Gibbs is also rumored to be part of the purchasing group!
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