Commanders’ Sale to Josh Harris, 20 Limited Partners Remains On Course

Any tweaks to Josh Harris’ $6.05 billion agreement to purchase the Washington Commanders aren’t likely to derail the timeline for approval, sources familiar with the process told Front Office Sports. 

The NFL finance committee is continuing its review of Harris’ deal that went final just two weeks ago. FOS reported earlier this week that a special meeting to approve Harris’ deal is expected before the start of the 2023 season. 

“Any adjustments required to the bid are modest and manageable,” one source told FOS on Friday. 

Multiple reports have questioned the structure of Harris’ deal, but those in Harris’ camp remain unconcerned. That’s not to say the deal isn’t complex, but that’s due to the record sale amount and the number of limited partners. 

FOS learned the number of limited partners Friday: 20. That’s under the NFL limit of 24. 

So far, only half of those have been unveiled, including NBA great Magic Johnson and multiple billionaires. 

The May 12 announcement mentioned two families: the Santo Domingo family (one of the wealthiest families in South America who made billions in the beer industry) and the Morgan family, who made a fortune in real estate. 

But Colombian-American Alejandro Santo Domingo and Morgan Properties founder Mitchell Morgan are considered individual investors as part of the deal, so they each count as one limited partner. 

The Steelers have about that many limited partners, including Harris and fellow New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia 76ers co-owner David Blitzer. Blitzer is also part of the ownership group for the Commanders. 

FOS previously reported that Harris and Blitzer are selling that 5% stake in the Steelers, which has to be offloaded before the Commanders’ sale closes. 

The combined net worth of the group Harris assembled is around $100 billion. 

While it’s not immediately clear what potential changes Harris could make, sources scoffed at reports that the bid includes $1 billion in unsecured financing which could run into issues with NFL debt rules. 

“The bid was thoughtfully structured and compliant with NFL rules,” a source told FOS.