The investment group Josh Harris / Mitchell Rales, of which NBA legend Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson is a part, offered this Tuesday 6,000 million dollars to acquire the Washington Commanders of the NFL, the professional American football league.
Dan Snyder, owner of the Commanders, announced his intention to sell the team last November. Forbes, a magazine specializing in the business world, estimates that the value of the franchise is 5.6 billion dollars. Speculation has grown since last year about a possible sale of the team from the capital of the United States due to the demands that Snyder has received for a toxic work culture.
In June of last year, a woman accused the owner of the former Redskins of assault and sexual harassment on a team plane in 2009, a lawsuit that ended in a $1.6 million settlement.
In July 2021, the NFL fined the franchise $10 million for allegations of sexual misconduct and gender-based violence that took place over a decade within the institution. In December of last year, the United States Congress determined that the Commanders organization covered up acts of inappropriate sexual conduct for years and Snyder tried to interfere and obstruct investigations into the complaints that were filed.
Actions that during the annual NFL owners meeting, which takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, could force Dan Snyder to sell the team. If the $6 billion offer from the Josh Harris/Mitchell Rales group is accepted, it would break the record for the sale of a franchise that was set in August 2022 when the group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton bought the Denver Broncos for 4,650 million.
‘Magic’ Johnson, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and co-owner of the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, was part of the investors, along with businessman Josh Harris, owner of the MLB’s Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils of the NHL, which bid but failed to acquire the Denver Broncos last summer.
