Our long national nightmare is finally coming to a close: Dan Snyder’s ass is on the way out of the NFL. Months of drawn out “will he or won’t he?” regarding the sale of the Washington Commanders came to a close on Thursday with the news that a $6 billion deal had been reached to sell the Commanders to an ownership group led by Josh Harris.
The Commanders’ new ownership group and their NBA connections, explained
Here’s what you need to know about the new Commanders owners.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
This is cause for mammoth celebration across the DC metro area. Ridding yourself of Dan Snyder is the equivalent of popping a pesky pimple – except people have weird internet fetishes for watching pimple popping, while nobody enjoys looking at Dan Snyder, even as a gross curiosity. Still, there’s always trepidation when it comes to new ownership. NFL owners are, by their very nature, largely terrible people – especially new owners who didn’t inherit teams. The league’s nouveau riche tend to come from venture capital backgrounds, hedge fund managers, the kind of people who made billions due to their ability and lack of compunction when it comes to hurting others on their way to the top.
So let’s look at the Commanders’ new big-three: Josh Harris, Mitchell Rales and Magic Johnson.
Who is Josh Harris?
A 58-year-old Maryland native, Harris made his money in private equity. A former employee of Blackstone Inc, Harris went on to start his own company “Apollo Global Management,” which is where he made his fortune. A key investment of $2B Apollo made in 2008 was sold for $9.6B in 2013.
As a result of his various business deals, Harris has his hands in dozens of business ventures. In the realm of sports he’s the managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Devils, and Crystal Palace in the Premier League. Harris also has a minority ownership stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers, which he will have to sell as part of closing the deal for the Commanders.
Harris has also flirted with politics. In 2017 he met with the Trump family about an appointment in the White House, and was named in a New York Times report for lending Jared Kushner $184 million following the meeting.
Who is Mitchell Rales?
A 66-year-old Pittsburgh native, far less is known about Mitchell Rales than his more prominent business partners – despite having a net worth of $5.6B. Rales was born into money, with his father running a successful real estate firm, as well as having a strong philanthropic background.
Rales was involved in several businesses, but made the majority of his fortune alongside brother Stephen when the dup foundered the conglomerate Danaher Corporation, which operates primarily in the hand tools, and medical fields. In 1995 the pair started Colfax Corporation, which would eventually become the medical giant Enovis.
In addition to his business ventures, Rales founded Glenstone, a private art museum in Potomac, Maryland.
Who is Magic Johnson?
A sports personality who tweets results four hours too late. Also used to play basketball professionally.
I’m a Commanders fan. Should I feel good about this?
Yes. You are rid of Dan Snyder. No NFL owners are good people, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone worse than Dan Snyder. Celebrate.
