28 March 2023 , 17:35
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Josh Harris’ takeover bid for the Washington Commanders, which he has been joined by Mitchell Rales and NBA legend Magic Johnson, has reportedly submitted a bid matching franchise owner Dan Snyder’s asking price.
Harris, Johnson and Co have been laying the groundwork for an acquisition of the Commanders from controversial owner Snyder for some time. Snyder has been under fire since an investigation commissioned by the NFL in 2020, and led by independent counsel Beth Wilkinson, stated that the franchise's workplace environment "both generally and particularly for women, was highly unprofessional."
Discussions about a vote to remove Snyder as Commanders owner have reportedly taken place among NFL owners - but talks paused as they waited to see developments on a potential sale.
And now according to journalist Adam Schefter, The Josh Harris-Mitchell Rales group, which includes Johnson, has officially submitted a fully-financed bid that meets Snyder’s $6billion (£4.8bn) asking price.
Such a bid could see the consortium beat off strong interest from Amazon supremo, Jeff Bezos, who was also keen on buying the Commanders. Bezos’ efforts to acquire the Commanders comes as the billionaire looks to build on his Washington portfolio.
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Bezos owns the Washington Post. However, Snyder isn’t keen for Bezos to be in the running for the Commanders as the publication released a number of articles raising the alleged cases of sexual harassment in the NFL franchise.
Magic Johnson is no stranger to sports franchise bids (Getty)Harris and Johnson already have experience in owning sports teams. NBA legend Johnson was also part of Harris’ failed bid for the NFL’s Denver Broncos last year.
Harris, Co-founder of Apollo Global Management, is worth $7.3bn (£5.9bn), according to Bloomberg. His sports portfolio includes Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and a slice of Premier League South London outfit, Crystal Palace, as well as the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.
In 2011, Johnson joined the bid group led by Guggenheim executives to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johnson was said to put in $50million (£40.7m) into the $2bn+ sale. Johnson played a massive role with publicity and the Dodgers are now valued at north of $5bn.