National Football League

NFL confirms no Commanders sale vote at next week's owners meetings

Published May. 18, 2023 5:18 p.m. ET

The pending $6.05 billion sale of the Washington Commanders from longtime owner Dan Snyder and his family to a group led by investor Josh Harris remains under standard review and will not be voted on next week by NFL owners at their spring meeting, the league said Thursday.

Jeff Miller, the NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, confirmed on a conference call with reporters that the approval vote will come later. Team owners will receive an update on the process at their previously scheduled meetings in Minnesota, but no action will be taken.

The sale agreement was finalized last Friday. NFL staff and finance committee members will continue to review the details in the meantime. The deal must be approved by three-quarters of the league (at least 24 of 32 owners) and satisfy other customary closing conditions.

"Nothing special or out of the ordinary process as we would for any other transaction," Miller said.

The deal is the largest for a North American professional sports franchise, surpassing the $4.55 billion Walmart heir Robert Walton paid for the Denver Broncos last year.

Snyder has owned the team since 1999, when he bought his favorite boyhood team for $750 million. Even as pressure mounted, he repeatedly said he’d never sell. That changed after multiple investigations by the NFL and Congress into the club's workplace misconduct and potential financial improprieties. The congressional investigation found Snyder played a role in a toxic culture.

The Harris group includes Washington-area billionaire Mitchell Rales, Basketball Hall of Fame member Magic Johnson and others including David Blitzer. Harris and Blitzer have owned the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers since 2011 and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils since 2013.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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