Magic Johnson hints at huge change at Commanders after record purchase

21 July 2023 , 19:21

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Magic Johnson has hinted that big changes could be made at the Washington Commanders (Image: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images)

Magic Johnson has hinted that there will be big changes at the Washington Commanders following the recent takeover - potentially even the team's name.

Johnson is part of a consortium led by Josh Harris and the Harris group that completed a takeover of the NFL franchise. It’s been reported that the deal in total is worth $6 billion (£4.6 bn), which would be the biggest fee for a sports team in history.

The deal saw the team’s ownership exchange hands from Dan Snyder, who had previously owned the franchise since 1999. Snyder paid $800 million (£622.4m) for the Commanders more than two decades ago, and has made 750 per cent profit on his original investment.

After the news was confirmed, Johnson posted an emotional tweet expressing his delight to Washington fans. And now the 63-year-old has gone into more detail of how he and Harris will help build the franchise going forward.

"It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It’s a lifelong dream," Johnson said in an interview with the TODAY Show on Friday, July 21. "I think it's going to be great. It’s going to be great for the Commanders fans, it's going to be great for the players as well, and for all the employees as well."

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The NBA icon, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his illustrious career, says that “everything is on the table” when it comes to the team potentially changing name.

Washington first changed their name in 2020 to the ‘Washington Football Team’. That was then changed again to the current name, the Commanders, which came into effect for the 2022 NFL regular season.

Magic Johnson is now the co-owner of the Washington Commanders (Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"I think everything is on the table, especially after this year,” said Johnson, when asked if a change of name once again is possible. “We’ll see where we are with the name, but I can’t say that right now."

"We’re going to spend this year understanding what we have in place, and then I’m sure [talk of a new facility] will come up, the name of the team will come up eventually, but right now we’ve got enough work to do and that will keep us busy."

While Johnson, Harris and co will be busy with their off -field duties as the team’s new owners, work is being done to prepare for the 2023 NFL regular season. The Commanders are due to return for training camp on July 25, before a busy pre-season schedule.

The Commanders will face three pre-season friendlies against the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals in August. That will all be the build-up to the Week One opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

Mark Wakefield