Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder finalized a deal in May to sell the NFL franchise to a group led by Josh Harris and Magic Johnson. Now, there’s a timeline for exactly when NFL owners could approve the sale.
The process of buying an NFL franchise takes months, even after the original owner agrees to a deal to sell the team. As part of the multi-step process, the NFL’s finance committee looks over every detail of the sales agreement and then submits it to the owners if everything checks out.
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However, the Commanders’ deal is unique. The finance committee had several reservations about the agreement, namely tied to the number of partners involved. Under NFL rules, no ownership group is permitted to exceed 25 partners and there are restrictions on who the partners are.
In order to ease the concerns, Harris agreed to replace some of the private equity financing in his deal. With the adjustments he’s made and the league’s desire to replace Snyder, a vote of approval is just weeks away.
According to Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal, NFL owners were informed to reserve July 20 and August 6 as dates for a special meeting. It’s believed that the special meeting would be to call for an official vote on the sale, with league-wide approval expected.
The NFL wants to resolve the matter before the regular season begins and ousting Snyder has been the objective of franchise owners for years. Not only will the Commanders’ sale help boost franchise values, it will also provide long-awaited stability to a storied franchise.
Once the $6 billion sale goes through, it will be the largest deal in the history of American sports. Furthermore, the deal will serve as the newest marker for futures sales of NFL franchises, with all eyes on the Seattle Seahawks.