Devils, Sixers owner Josh Harris takes next step to buy Commanders

Josh Harris

New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers principal owner Josh Harris is interested in buying the Washington Commanders.SL

Josh Harris is serious about wanting to buy the Washington Commanders from embattled owner Daniel Snyder.

How serious?

The Athletic and the Washington Post report the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers owner recently visited the Commanders’ training facility in Ashburn, Va.

Per the Washington Post: “At least one other prospective buyer visited the facility, according to one of those people. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the sale process being conducted by Bank of America on behalf of Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. A spokesperson for Harris, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management and the owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, declined to comment.”

Per The Athletic: “Touring a team’s stadium or headquarters is not uncommon for prospective buyers before a first round of bids is due, which is in a few weeks, the people familiar with the sale process said. … During this period, it is not uncommon for these potential owners to take tours like Harris’. The process then moves to binding bids, which those familiar with the sale process again said are due in the coming weeks for the Commanders. After the first round, there may be subsequent rounds.”

BUY NFL TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETMASTER

It should be no surprise that Harris submitted a bid to buy the Commanders. Last year, he tried to buy the Denver Broncos, who went for $4.65 billion to the Walton-Penner family ownership group, headed by Walmart heir Rob Walton; his daughter, Carrie Walton Penner; and her husband, Greg Penner. WIP reported in May (via Sportico) that Harris explored a bid for the Broncos in a partnership with NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

Harris already is a minority owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and would’ve had to sell his share in order to buy the Broncos. At the time of the deal in 2020, Bloomberg reported Harris and business partner David Blitzer “acquired a stake of less than 5% in the Pittsburgh Steelers. ... While no details on price were available, the pair of financiers may have paid as much as $140 million, based on the $2.8 billion value Forbes estimated for the NFL franchise ... Harris and Blitzer are joining the ownership group as passive investors alongside the Rooney family, with no input on operations, the people said.”

Harris and Blitzer previously expressed an interest in buying the New York Mets, which went to Steve Cohen in 2020 for more than $2.4 billion.

In addition, Yahoo Sports reports Harris and Blitzer have purchased a controlling interest in Ripken Baseball, which is a youth baseball organization.

As for the Commanders, The Athletic reports Harris “is considered a front-runner candidate to buy the team, assuming Snyder agrees to sell and the much-talked-about Jeff Bezos doesn’t enter the fray.”

NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay reported last month Harris is “perhaps the top candidate to buy the Commanders” if Bezos doesn’t make a bid.

Earlier this week, Fox Business Network’s Charles Gasparino reported “@NFL sources say sale of @Commanders will take place weeks after @SuperBowl and owners meeting in March. Despite denials, most people in NFL circles think @JeffBezos will bid after initial bids are in; given his wealth he’s most capable to make numbers work for a purchase.”

Last month, The New York Post reported Amazon founder Jeff Bezos could be sell the Washington Post, clearing the way for him to bid on the Commanders.

It’s worth noting that parties interested in bidding on the Commanders faced a late-December deadline set by the bank handling the sale. Bezos was rumored to be headlining a celebrity-stacked bid with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z. But Bezos didn’t submit an offer during that stage in the sale.

Some of those familiar with the process, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the bidding, said it’s unclear whether Bezos’s inaction reflects ambivalence over the price Snyder seeks, a ploy to sit back and ultimately outbid the top offer or some other misgivings about making an offer.

The Washington Post reports none of the offers submitted “reached the $7 billion mark that owner Daniel Snyder seeks for the team, according to a person familiar with the process.”

Front Office Sports reports “Snyder appears to be holding out for a $7 billion bid for the franchise, two sources with knowledge of the process told FOS. The highest offer through the first round of bids closed in December was $6.3 billion. ... One source told FOS that Bezos could be the among the only potential suitor willing to pay close to $7 billion.”

Want to bet on the NFL?

See the best NJ Sports Betting sites

According to Forbes, Bezos is worth $120.8 billion while Harris is worth $6.2 billion.

PFF’s Ari Meirov reports “Forbes valued the Commanders at $5.6 billion in August.”

ESPN reports Snyder bought the franchise for $800 million in 1999.

MORE NFL:

- Cowboys star is pulling for Eagles to win Super Bowl thanks to man-crush on his ‘homeboy’

- Michael Irvin Super Bowl incident: 2 witnesses claim to back Hall of Famer amid $100 million lawsuit

- NFL Honors 2023: Full list of winners, Hall of Fame inductee

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.