Group reportedly meets Snyder’s $6bn asking price for Washington Commanders

A group led by Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales has submitted a fully financed bid for the NFL’s Washington Commanders, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

The Harris/Rales group, which includes basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, is one of multiple bidders involved in the sale process. Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos are also in the running.

ESPN first reported the Harris/Rales group submitted the bid, meeting Snyder’s $6bn asking price.

Harris, who owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, brought on Rales, a billionaire who also grew up in Maryland, just outside Washington, earlier this year. Johnson, who has ownership experience with Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and others, later joined the group.

Last year, with multiple investigations ongoing into the team’s workplace culture and finances, longtime owner Dan Snyder and his wife Tanya hired a firm to explore selling part or all of the team. That came two weeks after Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said there was “merit to remove” Snyder, something that would take an unprecedented vote of 24 of the other 31 owners.

Selling the team would avoid going down that road, though the process has dragged on long enough that the situation may not be fully resolved by the end of the annual league meeting this week in Arizona.

Once Snyder accepts an offer, he must submit the bidder’s name to the NFL for approval. That hasn’t happened yet, a source told the AP on Monday. Three-quarters of the owners would need to approve any sale.

“I think he’s put the team up for sale. I believe that something is close to happening,” New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said