The Washington Commanders have been owned by Daniel Snyder since 1999 when he bought the franchise and the stadium that they played in for $800 million. His tenure as an owner has been marred by controversy, lawsuits, and other mishaps, as he has been viewed as one of the worst owners in all of sports.
Sale Of Commanders Is Biggest In US Sports History
The sale brings the Daniel Snyder era to a close. pic.twitter.com/a7xFiFfOk7
— Sportico (@Sportico) July 20, 2023
There have been attempts over the years in order to try and get Snyder to sell the team. But the all-powerful owner maintained through the hardships that be brought upon himself, until he was finally pressured to sell. On the same day that a report was released by the person hired by the NFL to investigate the Snyders, the Commanders were sold to the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment company.
It is not HBS’s first venture into ownership. They also hold majority stakes in the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, and are part owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers. But they now have a majority stake in the NFL, as the Commanders become the most expensive sale in this history of US sports.
The final price tag for the franchise comes in at $6.05 billion, nearly $1.5 billion more than the previous high that was set just last year. The Denver Broncos were sold to the Walton family in 2022 for $4,650,000,000, which more than doubled the price of the previous sale, when the Carolina Panthers were valued at $2.2 billion.
NFL Outdoes NBA Sale By Over $2 Billion
Breaking: Dan Snyder is no longer owner of the Washington Commanders. A group led by Josh Harris will be the new owners after NFL owners just approved the $6.05 billion transaction.
Snyder’s tenure is over. pic.twitter.com/zJ2DlMIhYS
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 20, 2023
The Commanders are the 5th team to sell for over $1 billion, as franchise prices have ballooned in recent years. From 1999 until 2012, 7 of the 8 NFL teams that were sold were done so for a price tag of less than $1 billion, most of them coming within a few hundred thousand dollars of each other.
The sale of the Commanders is by far the biggest that we have seen in any of the major North American sports. The NBA just had a record set for their league when Matt Ishbia purchased the Phoenix Suns last year for $4 billion, and the last MLB team to be sold was the New York Mets, who went for $2.4 billion in 2020.