A group led by billionaires Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales submitted a fully financed bid for the Washington Commanders, according to ESPN on Tuesday.
Magic Johnson, a Hall of Famer, has reportedly joined Harris Rales's group. Johnson is part of the group of investors that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.
The Harris Rales group submitted the bid at Snyder's $6 billion asking price. Harris, who owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, brought on Rales, a billionaire who grew up in Maryland, just outside Washington earlier this year.
If a $6 billion deal is accepted, it would break the previous record sale for a professional sports team by a significant margin. A group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton closed a $4.65 billion deal to purchase the Denver Broncos.
Harris recently toured the Commanders' facilities, while at least one other anonymous group has done the same, according to The Washington Post.
According to ESPN, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is interested in buying the franchise.
If current Commanders owner Daniel Snyder decides to accept a bid, he will have to submit the bidder's information to the NFL for approval. Three-quarters of the owners would need to approve any sale.
Aside from his ownership stake in the NBA and the NHL, Harris also owns part of the Crystal Palace FC of the English Premier League.
Harris is a Maryland native and grew up in Bethesda just outside Washington, D.C. He co-founded Apollo Management in 1990, an asset management firm. According to Forbes, Harris has a net worth of $5.8 billion.
According to Forbes, Harris' partner has a net worth of $5.5 billion.
Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos has also joined the bidding for the Commanders, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
Apostolopoulos is a Toronto native who went to Harvard and is the founder of a private equity venture company. He is also the managing partner of Triple Group of Companies, a Toronto-based property management company.
Snyder led a group that bought the Washington franchise for $800 million in 1999. In March 2021, Synder took over all of his longtime minority owners and bought all of his longtime minority owners.
The NFL owners unanimously approved Snyder's purchase of the remaining 40.5% of the team, according to ESPN. The debt waiver and $875 million sale were approved by the league, as well as a $450 million debt waiver and $875 million sale.
In November, Snyder and his wife Tanya hired Bank of America Securities to look at the possible sale of part or all of the NFL franchise.
The decision came after Colts owner Jim Irsay said there was merit to remove Snyder, which would take an unprecedented vote of 24 of the other 31 owners.
Snyder wanted to protect himself against future legal liability and costs if he sells the team, but he was angry with some of his colleagues by demanding that owners and the league indemnify him against future legal liability and costs, according to The Washington Post.