Josh Harris outbid Jeff Bezos and Jay-Z to acquire $6,050,000,000 Washington Commanders: Report
Jeff Bezos has followed the NFL for a long time and the founder of Amazon also had aspirations to own an NFL franchise.
As per reports, the billionaire, along with musician Jay-Z, tried to purchase the Washington Commanders in 2022-23, but could not succeed. However, new details have emerged regarding the sale of the Commanders.
Dan Snyder purchased the Commanders in 1989 for $800 million. However, Snyder faced several issues during the later part of his ownership, including the rebranding of the Commanders from Washington Redskins. In 2022, Snyder made the call of selling the team.
During that time, the Amazon founder was busy purchasing stakes in businesses based in Washington, including the newspaper, The Washington Post.
Bezos teamed up with music industry mogul Jay-Z to get their hands on the NFL franchise. Reports have now emerged that Snyder had blocked Bezos from owning the team.
However, The Financial Times recently reported that it was not a matter of being blocked but being outbid. They wrote:
“People briefed on the process, however, insist Bezos was simply outbid by Harris, who acquired the team for $6bn.”
“I don’t think Snyder would have not sold to them if Jeff came in with a bid of $7bn,” said a person involved in the process.
The Commanders were finally sold to Josh Harris and group for $6.05 billion by Snyder. The world’s second richest man will have to bide his time some more to purchase any NFL franchise since none are available to be sold soon.
Not Jeff Bezos, but the Commanders are in able hands of Josh Harris
There’s a vast difference between the $206.3 billion and $8.8 billion net worth of Jeff Bezos and Josh Harris, respectively, as per Forbes. However, with only one season under his belt, Harris has proved to be an able owner of the franchise.
Soon after finalizing the purchase, Harris and the team spent an additional $75 million to renovate the FedEx Field and the fan experience.
Head coach Ron Rivera’s dismal 4-13 record led to his firing and Harris recruited new blood at the front office level earlier this year. These included the hiring of Dan Quinn at the HC position.
Overall second pick Jayden Daniels is ready to lead the team this season. The Commanders travel to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 8 for their season opener.