Ball – Record Sale: Washington Chiefs change hands for €5,509m (American Football)

Businessman Dan Snyder, 58, has agreed to divest the ownership of the NFL’s Washington Commanders joint franchise, which he acquired with his wife Tanya in 1999 for $750 million (€688.6 million), to a multimillionaire-led consortium. Josh Harris, who also includes former basketball legend Magic Johnson, has a record net worth of $6 billion, €5,509 million, Forbes announced today.

Announcements from the parties on Friday confirmed the deal, and it is still awaiting various approvals. In particular, permission by at least two-thirds of the owners of the other 31 clubs in the North American Professional Soccer League, which will meet in Minneapolis from the 22nd to the 24th specifically to give approval of the deal…or not.

Billionaire Mitchell Rales is another investor in the buyout consortium, led by Josh Harris, who is also one of the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) and the New Jersey Devils (NHL) ice hockey team, and also owns a minority stake in another company. Football team, Pittsburgh Steelers, and a percentage of the shares of Crystal Palace (English Premier League, Football, England).

In addition to the approval needed for at least three-quarters of the franchisees on the league’s other 31 teams, Dan Snyder and Josh Harris still need the NFL’s Finance Committee to approve the deal, or do nothing.

We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement to sell the Commanders franchise to Josh Harris and his fantastic group of investors. We look forward to closing the transaction with best wishes to Josh for years to come,” read the note issued today by Dan Snyder and his wife, Tanya.

NFL rules require that, if he receives the necessary approvals to validate the deal, Josh Harris disposes of his Pittsburgh Steelers stock: He cannot simultaneously have interests in two of the 32 teams.

And Forbes magazine indicates that the amount exceeds the 4,800 million pounds (4,884 million euros) that Russian businessman Roman Abramovich sold in 2022, Chelsea to American business magnate Todd Bohle and Clearlake Capital. Since November 2022, Bank of America has outlined the features of the giant deal, and then Dan Snyder appointed it for this purpose, more than six months ago.