Getty Image / Cooper Neill
After months of speculation and years of scandal, the Washington Commanders finally have a new owner.
The franchise was sold for just over $6 billion to Josh Harris, who also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils.
Many saw this as a win for the NFL, but it seems the league’s owners might not exactly agree with that assessment.
According to a report from the Washington Post, the NFL’s other owners are actually disappointed by the price tag for the Washington Commanders.
NFL team owners are optimistic about approving a tentative $6.05 billion sale of the Washington Commanders from owner Daniel Snyder, but the process may not be the mere formality it has been with other recent franchise sales. https://t.co/YJlqrL50DR
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 15, 2023
I don’t know how this sale can be seen as anything other than a major success for the league and its owners.
It is by far the most expensive sale ever for a sports franchise in the US despite the fact that the Commanders aren’t exactly the most successful franchise, are the subject of the league’s biggest scandal, and have a stadium that is considered the league’s worst.
Despite that, they still sold for nearly a billion and a half dollars more than the Broncos sold for last year and now the rest of the league’s owners don’t have to deal with Dan Snyder anymore.
That sounds like a pretty big success to me.
Maybe there were some around the league who thought the Commanders could have fetched a bigger price, but it’s difficult to see how.
The Broncos were arguably a more appealing franchise at the time of their sale.
With this sale becoming the latest to crush the record for the sale of an NFL franchise, the rest of the league’s teams should only continue to go up.
They at least know now that $6 billion is a possibility for any owner looking to sell their team.