Dan and Tanya Snyder have agreed to sell the Washington Commanders to an investment group led by Josh Harris, the two sides said on Friday, leaving only the N.F.L. to sign off on the $6 billion sale.
The two sides had reached a tentative agreement a month ago, but the nonexclusive deal gave Snyder the ability to continue to look for other bidders, or even walk away.
On Friday, Harris and his group said they entered into a purchase and sale agreement, subject to the approval of at least three-quarters of the league’s 31 other team owners.
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the Commanders franchise with Josh Harris, an area native, and his impressive group of partners,” Tanya and Dan Snyder said in a joint statement. “We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”
In a statement on behalf of his ownership group, which includes Magic Johnson, Harris said, “We look forward to the formal approval of our ownership by the N.F.L. in the months ahead and to having the honor to serve as responsible and accountable stewards of the Commanders franchise moving forward.”
The announcement comes two days after the league’s finance committee met in New York to evaluate the contours of the deal. The full contingent of N.F.L. owners could be briefed on the agreement when they meet in Minneapolis on May 22 and 23, and vote on the deal in the coming months.
In recent weeks, the Snyders had been looking for protection from the outstanding league investigation being led by Mary Jo White, whom the N.F.L. hired to look into allegations of financial malfeasance and sexual harassment at the club. The N.F.L. has not announced a timeline for releasing that report.
But Harris has not agreed to protect the Snyders from any league penalties that could arise as a result of the N.F.L.’s investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement who was not authorized to speak publicly about its details. The league has not agreed to indemnify Snyder either, according to another person with knowledge of the agreement.
Prosecutors in the District of Columbia and Virginia also have open inquiries into the team.
Harris, whose investment group already owns the Philadelphia 76ers of the N.B.A., the New Jersey Devils of the N.H.L. and part of Crystal Palace of the English Premier League, assembled an even larger group of investors to purchase the Commanders, which is worth far more than the other three clubs combined.
Ken Belson
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