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After it was announced that embattled and generally reviled Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder had agreed to sell the team to Josh Harris for $6 billion, fans of the franchise rejoiced as it appeared they’d finally gotten rid of the league’s worst owner.
Over a month later, however, the sale has yet to become official. Don’t panic though, Commanders fans, as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell — who is undoubtedly very involved in the process given how much the league has wanted to get rid of Snyder in recent years — recently provided a positive update on the sale.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, May 23 at the Spring League Meetings in Minnesota, Goodell said he believes that the sales process will get “to a place where it is approved’ by the rest of the league’s owners.”
The sale to Harris — who is also the majority owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils — concludes Snyder’s 24-year tenure as the team’s owner, which was mired in mediocrity and controversy. Snyder’s ownership of the Commanders has been so tumultuous, in fact, that the organization has been the subject of recent congressional investigations.
There has also been the recent branding transition, which resulted in the franchise being named the Washington Football Team — a moniker fans seem to like more than the Commanders — for two seasons.
If the stalwart NFC East franchise does officially sell for $6 billion, that will represent the largest amount of money ever paid for an NFL franchise, besting the $4.6 billion that Walmart heir Rob Walton spent on the Denver Broncos in 2022.
It’s also almost triple what the Carolina Panthers sold for back in 2018 ($2.275 billion). As for how that price tag compares to other professional sports, the Phoenix Suns of the NBA sold for $4 billion in 2022, while the New York Mets of Major League Baseball went for $2.4 billion to Steve Cohen back in 2020.