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Daniel Snyder to sell Washington Commanders to Josh Harris group for $6.05 billion
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- Daniel Snyder to sell Washington Commanders to Josh Harris group for $6.05 billion
Daniel Snyder's sale of the Washington Commanders is approaching the finish line.
Snyder is nearing a deal to sell the team to a group led by billionaires Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales , two people familiar with the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Thursday afternoon. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the process and because the sale had not been finalized.
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One of the people said the Harris group had reached a preliminary agreement to purchase the team for $6.05 billion, which would crush the previous record sale price for an NFL franchise set by Rob Walton and Greg Penner last year. They bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion .
The Harris deal is fully financed but not exclusive, the person added. It had yet to be submitted to the NFL as of mid-afternoon Thursday.
A team spokesperson said the Commanders "aren't in a position to comment" on the potential sale, which was first reported by Sportico . Spokespeople for Harris and the NFL declined comment.
Barring any unexpected hurdles, Thursday's news signals the end of Snyder's rocky 24-year run as Washington's majority owner , during which the franchise played under more team names (three) than it won playoff games (two).
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Washington's lack of success on the field, and myriad controversies away from it, saw Snyder become a villain of sorts for many diehard fans.
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Harris, 58, and Rales, 66, will now look to usher in a new era. Harris is the co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management and already owns two other sports franchises, the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils . Rales is the co-founder of Danaher Corporation, a Fortune 500 company that bills itself as a "global science and technology innovator."
Josh Harris celebrates signing James Harden with the Philadelphia 76ers, one of two professional sports teams Harris already owns.
Notably, Harris and Rales both have deep ties to the greater Washington area and attended high school there. They have a combined net worth of roughly $11.7 billion, according to Forbes .
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NBA legend Magic Johnson is also known to be part of the bidding group.
Snyder and his wife, Tanya, announced in November that they had retained a bank to "explore potential transactions" involving the Commanders. Given his unsuccessful pursuit of the Broncos in 2021 and his ties to the area, Harris has long been viewed as a serious contender to submit the winning bid.
Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos are among the others who are known to have bid for the team, and ESPN reported that Apostolopoulos was "still involved in the sales process" as of Thursday afternoon. Harris' group and Apostolopoulos submitted formal bids last month .
Fertitta revealed in an interview on CNBC on Wednesday that he declined to offer more than Forbes' valuation of the team, which is $5.6 billion.
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was also long rumored to be in the mix, and he hired an investment firm earlier this year to explore a potential bid. But news emerged Wednesday that he would not submit one , essentially clearing the way for the other bidders to move toward a finalized deal.
The parameters of the sale to Harris' group still have to be formally submitted to the NFL and evaluated by members of its finance committee. The deal will then have to be approved by three-fourths of NFL owners, who will meet in Minneapolis next month.
Given the recent controversies surrounding Snyder, however, owners are expected to rubber-stamp the deal.
Snyder, 58, purchased the Commanders in 1999 and took full control of the team in 2021, after buying out the shares held by a group of minority owners. Under his leadership, the team has been the subject of multiple investigations in recent years, including one overseen by Democrats in the House Oversight Committee and two more by the NFL.
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The first of those NFL probes, led by outside attorney Beth Wilkinson, found evidence of a toxic workplace culture within the franchise and resulted in a series of penalties. The second investigation, led by Mary Jo White, is looking into allegations of sexual harassment levied against Snyder, which he has denied, and of financial impropriety. That investigation remains ongoing.
Contributing: Jarrett Bell
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daniel Snyder to sell Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion
