(Bloomington) NFL owners have unanimously approved the sale of Dan Snyder’s Washington Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris and including Magic Johnson, for a record $6.05 billion.
All 32 team owners voted for the sale, which sold for the highest price for a professional sports team in North America.
After the finance committee approved the deal with the new group, Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, a special league meeting was called to review and vote on it before the start of the 2023 season.
A native of Maryland, Snyder had owned the club since 1999 when he bought it for 800 million. The team has only made the playoffs six times in 24 years, winning just two of those games and going 166-226-2 overall.
The squad enjoyed its glory days under coach Joe Gibbs, who won the Super Bowl three times in 12 years at the helm, from 1981 to 1992.
Off the field, there was a feud with minority owners which resulted in Snyder buying out their shares of the team.
There have also been allegations of sexual harassment by former employees, prompting investigations into workplace misconduct.
Time and again, Snyder said he would never sell the team.
But last October, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said there was a case for dismissing Snyder, which would have required votes from at least 24 of the other 31 clubs.
Two weeks later, Snyder and his wife Tanya hired a firm to explore the sale of part or all of one of the NFL’s oldest teams, established in the American capital since 1937.
The group chaired by Harris includes David Blitzer, with whom he co-owns the 76ers of Philadelphia and the New Jersey Devils.
A Washington-area businessman, Mitchell Rales, and more than a dozen other people are also implicated.
The group needed and received league approval for a deal that eclipsed Walmart heir Rob Walton’s $4.35 billion deal to acquire the Denver Broncos last year.
A big challenge for the long-term future is a new stadium to replace FedEx Field, the team’s home since 1997 in Landover, Maryland.
Winning the respect of fans is also a top priority: Washington ranked last in the league in attendance in 2022 and second to last in 2021.
Renamed the Commanders in 2022, the club dropped the Redskins name in 2020 and spent two seasons as the “Washington Football Team”.