Daniel Snyder has been dipping his toe into the water of possibly selling a portion or the entirety of his Washington Commanders franchise, which has millionaires and billionaires alike lining up for a potential run. One of those billionaires is New Jersey Devils co-owner Josh Harris, and he now has a notable millionaire alongside him as he makes his bid — Magic Johnson. The Los Angeles Lakers legend and Hall of Fame guard joined Harris’ bidding group as they look to purchase the franchise, according to Sportico.
This is not the first time that Harris and Johnson have teamed up in pursuit of an NFL club. Johnson was also part of Harris’ failed bid to purchase the Denver Broncos last year, and they are giving it another try here with the Commanders sale looming. Johnson is said to be providing both money and expertise to the Commanders bid.
The 63-year-old owns a minority stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, putting in $50 million of his own money into what was ultimately a winning bid that topped $2 billion. While Johnson’s contributions were small in the grand scheme of that purchase, he also was a public face for the organization. He also has had other business ventures since retiring from the NBA in 1996 including stake in the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and LAFC, which is the most valuable club in MLS. This latest report regarding the Commanders says it’s unclear how much capital Johnson is contributing to the group.
Meanwhile, Harris is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management and is worth $7.3 billion. Similar to Johnson, he’s no stranger to owning professional teams. Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment own the Devils along with the 76ers, and the Prudential Center. Harris also has a piece of the English soccer club Crystal Palace. Along with Johnson, Harris’ bidding group consists of Mitchell Rales, who is the co-founder of Danaher and is worth $6.6 billion, so there is significant capital, experience, and name recognition with this group.
Sportico did report that this bidding group is one of the handful in talks with Snyder, who has been under scrutiny in recent years for numerous accusations headlined by financial impropriety and harboring a hostile work environment. That has led some owners, like Indianapolis’ Jim Irsay, to publicly consider forcibly removing him as the owner of the Commanders by way of reaching the necessary 24 votes among the other 31…
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