NFL Approves $6 Billion Deal for Washington Commanders
Owners of the N.F.L.’s 31 other teams unanimously approved the sale of the Washington Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris, the private equity billionaire, who agreed to pay a record $6.05 billion to Daniel Snyder, the scandal-plagued owner of the team.
The figure surpassed the previous highest price paid for an American sports team, the $4.65 billion a group led by the Walmart heir Rob Walton paid last year for the Denver Broncos. The Commanders transaction is expected to formally close as early as Friday. Snyder bought the team in 1999 for $800 million.
“Josh will be a great addition to the N.F.L.,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement announcing the vote, adding, “I know he has a commitment to winning on the field, but also to running an organization that everyone will be proud of — and to making positive contributions in the community.”
The vote, taken at an ad hoc, one-day meeting in Minneapolis, will allow Harris and his group to take control of one of the league’s cornerstone franchises, which under Snyder had endured years of losses on the field and bouts of chaos off it. Harris has a track record of improving the standings of the other professional teams he owns, the Philadelphia 76ers of the N.B.A. and the New Jersey Devils of the N.H.L.
Source: The New York Times
