Canadian Steve Apostolopoulos Enters Commanders Mix

Canadian real estate and venture capital exec Steve Apostolopoulos visited Washington Commanders’ facilities and has an interest in acquiring the franchise, a source with knowledge of the process confirmed to Front Office Sports on Wednesday. 

It’s unclear if Apostolopoulos has entered a bid to purchase the Commanders. ESPN was the first outlet to report Apostolopoulos was a potential bidder for the franchise that has been on the market since November.

Apostolopoulos recently toured the Commanders headquarters in Ashburn, Va., and FedEx Stadium in Landover, Md., according to The Washington Post. FOS was unable to confirm the timing of Apostolopoulos’ visit, something that typically occurs during the midpoint of the bidding process. 

With the NFL owners’ meetings scheduled to begin on Sunday, it’s been expected that Commanders owner Dan Snyder would announce a potential new team owner soon. 

In early February, Josh Harris, the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner, visited the team’s facilities. Harris, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos are among those who are interested in acquiring the Commanders. 

Apostolopoulos is the managing partner of Triple Group of Companies, a Toronto-based real estate management firm founded by his father. Apostolopoulos is also the founder of Six Ventures Inc., which invests in startups. 

Messages left with Apostolopoulos, Triple Group of Companies, and Six Ventures were not immediately returned.

Apostolopoulos’ family has an estimated net worth of $3.9 billion, according to a Globe and Mail story on the death of his father, Andreas, in 2021. Andreas Apostolopoulos’ first job after he emigrated to Canada from Greece at age 17 was at a KFC factory before he amassed a fortune that made him the wealthiest Canadian of Greek descent. 

The Apostolopoulos family’s biggest sports-related purchase to date was the Detroit Lions’ former stadium in Pontiac, Mich., in 2009. Apostolopoulos paid $583,000 for the Silverdome, now home to an Amazon fulfillment center.