The Josh Harris/Mitchell Rales group, which now includes Magic Johnson, officially submitted a fully financed bid for the Washington Commanders that meets Dan Snyder’s $6 billion asking price, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
If accepted, the deal would break the previous record sale for a franchise, set last August, when a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion.
Steve Apostolopoulos, a Canadian billionaire, and Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, are among other groups interested in purchasing the Commanders. There is another anonymous group that has also toured the facilities, multiple sources involved in the process have told ESPN.
The Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils. Harris and David Blitzer also own part of Crystal Palace FC of the English Premier League.
Harris, who grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, co-founded Apollo Management in 1990, an asset management firm. He has a net worth of $5.8 billion, according to Forbes.
Rales, a D.C. billionaire, is also part of Harris’ group. Rales has a net worth of $5.5 billion, according to Forbes.
Snyder led a group that purchased the team in 1999 for $800 million.
ESPN’s John Keim contributed to this report.
