Source: Commanders sale vote expected July 20

John Keim, ESPN Staff WriterJun 23, 2023, 10:31 AM ET
Close

The NFL has scheduled a meeting next month where the owners are expected to vote on the sale of the Washington Commanders to a group led by Josh Harris, a source confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

The NFL sent a memo to the owners that a meeting would take place July 20 to discuss the sale of the Commanders from Dan and Tanya Snyder to the Harris group for a record $6.05 billion.

It’s likely that a vote would take place, based on anticipated unanimous approval by the finance committee, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the meeting. The vote could take place in Minneapolis, where the owners met in late May.

The committee has not yet recommended approval, but the fact that a special meeting was set indicates the direction the sale is headed. Typically, the owners adhere to the committee’s recommendation. For the sale to be approved, 24 of the 32 owners must vote in favor.

Last year, for example, the committee recommended unanimous approval July 27 regarding the sale of the Denver Broncos to a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton. The owners voted their approval Aug. 9.

There has been strong motivation to get the Commanders deal done, according to multiple sources, and move on from the Snyders before the season begins. That’s why, despite concerns about the structure of the Harris offer at various points, many remained optimistic the deal would be completed. Multiple sources said the Snyders were eager to finish the process as well.

Washington opens training camp July 26.

On June 7, the finance committee met with Harris for 2½ hours in New York City. Afterward, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, one of eight members on the committee, expressed optimism to ESPN about the direction of Harris’ bid. At the owners meetings last month, Irsay had been adamant that work needed to be done to get the offer in compliance with NFL guidelines.

“I’m hopeful because of their inspired aspect and their enthusiasm and their track record,” Irsay said after meeting with Harris. “We’re just trying to work through those final details. And I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to. I would imagine something in mid-to-late July would be the earliest we’d call a league meeting.” Shortly after that meeting, the NFL informed teams a possible vote would take place on either July 20 or Aug. 8.

Harris’ group includes Washington billionaire Mitchell Rales as well as NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson among its 20 limited partners — all of whom had to be vetted by the committee, adding to the length of time in recommending their approval.

The committee has worked with Harris to get his bid in compliance with NFL guidelines. Irsay said multiple times in the past two months there were concerns over the amount of debt carried by Harris and how much equity was in his offer.

According to NFL guidelines, a new owner can’t take on more than $1.1 billion in debt and must put down 30% of the offer. Irsay also said Harris and Rales wanted the league to work with them “particularly from a taxation standpoint.”

“They know it can’t be smoke and mirrors,” Irsay told ESPN in early June, after the committee met with Harris. “It’s a complicated deal.”

But Irsay, as well as others in the league including commissioner Roger Goodell, said they would not alter the guidelines to accommodate Harris.

Harris entered into a signed exclusive deal with co-owners Dan and Tanya Snyder on May 12, edging Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos’ bid of $6 billion.

The Snyders shocked the NFL by putting the Commanders up for sale Nov. 2 — less than two weeks after releasing a statement that proclaimed they would never sell the team. The NFL had investigated the work culture under Snyder for nearly a year before fining the franchise $10 million in July 2021.

But the House Committee for Oversight and Reform started its own investigation into Snyder in October 2021, an investigation that ended when the Republicans took control last fall. Attorneys general in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia also have investigated alleged financial impropriety by the Commanders from Snyder’s reign, prior to 2020.

Also, attorney Mary Jo White continues to investigate allegations against Snyder. One league source said the findings of that report could be released before the final vote.

Once approved, Harris would be the franchise’s fifth owner. George Preston Marshall owned the team from 1932 — when it was located in Boston — until he died in 1969; Edward Bennett Williams was the primary owner from 1970 to 1974, when Jack Kent Cooke became the majority owner. Snyder bought the team in 1999 for $800 million, two years after Cooke’s death.

The team went 164-220-2 under Snyder. Washington has not won a playoff game since the 2005 season and has not won 11 or more games in the regular season since 1991. From 1971 to ’92, the franchise played in five Super Bowls and won three. They compiled an 18-10 playoff record during this stretch.