NBA legend Magic Johnson speaks out for the first time about his ‘exciting’ bid to buy Washington Commanders alongside 76ers owner Josh Harris: ‘We hope we win… let’s see what happens with Mr Snyder’
NBA legend Magic Johnson has shed light for the first time on his joint bid to buy the Washington Commanders with Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris, describing the entire process as ‘exciting’.
The basketball Hall of Famer, who’s become a prominent executive through several sports ownership groups with stakes in Major League Baseball’s L.A. Dodgers, Major League Soccer’s L.A.F.C. and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, spoke to USA Today while visiting New York City on Tuesday.
‘Yes, our bid is in. We hope that we win… we don’t know what’s going to happen,’ the L.A. Lakers legend said when asked by Al Roker on the progress of negotiations to buy the NFL franchise from controversial owner, Dan Snyder.
The Commanders are worth an estimated $5.6billion, according to Forbes, and are expected to sell for more than the Denver Broncos, who were bought buy a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton for a record $4.65billion.
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Magic was part of Harris’ unsuccessful bid to buy the Broncos in June of 2022.
Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, 63, spoke of his Commanders bid from New York City
Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Josh Harris is eyeing to buy an NFL franchise after losing out to a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton to buy the Denver Broncos for a record $4.65B in June
‘We’ll see what happens with Mr. Snyder making that decision so… but we’re excited about it,’ the five-time NBA champion added, revealing that he and his wife, Cookie, ‘love sports.’
Harris along with partner David Blitzer owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils since 2011 and 2013, respectively. He bought the NBA team for $280million at the time and the NHL franchise for $320million.
In 2015, Harris bought a 18 percent stake in English Premier League club Crystal Palace. The club is run in a general partnership consisting of himself, Blitzer, and English businessman, Steve Parish.
Washington-area billionaire Mitchell Rales is also reportedly part of Harris’ group bidding for the Commanders.
Amid multiple investigations into workplace conduct and potential financial improprieties, Snyder and his wife, Tanya, began exploring selling part or all of the team in the fall.
Commanders co-owners Dan and Tanya Snyder want to sell the franchise for a hefty $5.6billion
Jeff Bezos was considered to be in the running to buy the Commanders but Snyder is against the Amazon CEO buying the franchise due to the team’s bad press in The Washington Post
Any sale would need to be approved by three-quarters of NFL owners, who ‘remain unsure’ if Snyder will actually sell the D.C.-based franchise, and declined to hold vote to force a deal amid rumored interest from Jeff Bezos and Houston Rockets owner, Tilman Fertitta.
However, Snyder is said to be against the Amazon CEO buying the franchise due to the team’s bad press in The Washington Post.
Snyder’s ownership has been a hot-button issue for years, since several employees came out about workplace harassment, which prompted a league investigation and a $10million fine.
When no written report of Beth Wilkinson’s investigation was produced, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform launched its own review of the situation, which included a referral to the Federal Trade Commission.
The league retained former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White to investigate, and that probe is ongoing. At a league meeting in October, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said there was ‘merit to remove’ Snyder — who then hired Bank of America Securities two weeks later.
