Washington Commanders sold to Sixers co-owner Josh Harris, Magic Johnson

Josh Harris’ ownership group, including Magic Johnson, has agreed to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders from longtime owners Dan and Tanya Snyder.

Harris, who has had majority ownership of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers since 2011 and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils since 2013, now owns stakes in teams in three of the four major North American professional sports leagues.

The sale of the Commanders was pending the execution of a contract and then approval from the rest of the league’s owners, which took 24 of 32 votes to pass. 

The Snyders bought the franchise for $800 million back in 1999.

Harris is assuming control of a once-storied franchise that has fallen far from the 1980s and early ’90s glory days, when Washington won the Super Bowl three times. The team made the playoffs just six times in 24 seasons, only won a postseason game twice and went 166-226-2 overall with Snyder in charge.

He also inherits coach Ron Rivera, who has run Washington’s football operations for three seasons — none with a winning record, including an NFC East title at 7-9 in 2020 followed by a first-round loss.

The biggest immediate challenge for the long-term future of the organization is a new stadium to replace FedEx Field, the rushed-to-completion home of the team since 1997 in Landover, Maryland, that has not aged well. Virginia abandoned a stadium bill last spring given the number of off-field controversies swirling around the team.

Getting fans back is a major priority after Washington ranked last in the league in attendance in 2022 and were second-last in 2021. The team rebranded last year as the Commanders after dropping the name Redskins in the summer of 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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