Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Magic Johnson has remained busy in sports since retiring from his career as an NBA Hall of Famer for the Los Angeles Lakers.
His most notable stake is part of Guggenheim Baseball Management, which purchased the Dodgers in 2012 led by Mark Walter. He has additionally been part of groups to purchase a minority stake in the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, the MLS’ Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), and other football and basketball franchises in SimWin Sports.
In his most recent attempt to purchase part of a team, Johnson joined a group led by the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils co-owner Josh Harris to purchase the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
Now, Harris and his group has agreed to acquire the Commanders for a record amount, according to Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico:
Josh Harris has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the Washington Commanders for $6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Harris and Commanders owner Dan Snyder are hoping to execute a contract in the coming days, said the people, who were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the transaction publicly.
In addition to Johnson, Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly is part of the group purchasing the Commanders.
Boehly has several other business ventures as he owns minority stakes in the Lakers, Sparks, the fantasy sports company DraftKings and esports organization Cloud9. He was more recently was part of a consortium with Walter that purchased the Chelsea Football Club for a record $5.33 billion.
Boehly, along with Clearlake Capital partners Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, reportedly had a deal in place to purchase minority ownership stakes in the Commanders last year, but it was vetoed by Snyder.
The reported $6 billion deal surpasses the Denver Broncos for the NFL record when they were sold for $4.6 billion, and it passes Chelsea as the most expensive sports team in history.
Steve Cohen holds the record for the most expensive purchase of an MLB franchise at $2.4 billion when he bought the New York Mets, which surpassed the Dodgers’ sale price of $2 billion.
The Commanders, which previously went by the names Football Team and Redskins, have been owned by Daniel Snyder for more than two decades, but his time there was filled with controversy related to the team name, workplace culture and his management style.
Fixing Commanders will not be easy
Harris and his group will have a lot of work ahead of them to fix the Commanders’ issues.
In a 2023 survey from the NFL Players Association, Washington was ranked as the worst team to play for by players, with failing grades given in their facilities, training room, locker room, travel, and grades ranging from C+ to D- in nutrition, weight room and their training staff.
The only positive grade the Commanders received was their strength staff, which earned an A+. But they were the only team to not have at least two grades above a C+ and finished last in four of the eight categories, along with second to last in one other.
Snyder previously purchased the team for $800 million in 1999, so despite his poor ownership, the value of the club continued to skyrocket due to the popularity of the NFL.
Make sure to follow Dodger Blue on Instagram! It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
