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Washington Commanders fans excited about their team finally escaping the clutches of longtime owner Dan Snyder may want to calm down a bit.
At least, that’s according to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
Snyder put the legendary NFL franchise up for sale in 2022 after investigations into widespread misconduct from both the league and government officials.
Big names such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk came up as potential buyers. But ultimately, it appeared that Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris had won the bidding.
Now though, it appears that a sale may well be in limbo.
Not because Harris has backed out, but rather because the 31 other NFL owners must review the sale. Snyder and his wife Tanya did not attend the NFL Owners Meetings in Minnesota recently. But neither did Harris or any representative from his group.
“It’s a complicated deal, so we are trying to just work through it,” Irsay, a member of the NFL finance committee, told Front Office Sports. “It is going to take several more weeks of discussions before we see if we can reach the goal. They’re hopeful and we want to work in that direction.”
Harris and Snyder reportedly agreed to a deal worth slightly over $6 billion in early May. Though no sale can go through without the approval of the rest of the league’s owners.
It’s hard to see why a deal wouldn’t go through. And Harris, who also owns the New Jersey Devils and Premier League team Crystal Palace, can certainly afford it. But until a deal is both agreed and approved, Commanders fans will be left sweating bullets.
“I know that by any definition or standard it sounds like a long process, but this is a significant thing for everybody involved, [including] the fans in Washington,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I think doing it right and having people of this caliber [who are part of Harris’ group) involved is worthwhile.”