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Tuesday, November 5, 2024
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Commanders Sale Still Not A Done Deal

  • The winning bid will likely become the most expensive U.S. pro franchise sale.
  • Ex-Duke basketball player Brian Davis also forwarded documentation on a $7B bid to the NFL.
Josh Harris
Nov 13, 2018; Camden, NJ, USA; Philadelphia 76ers managing partner Josh Harris looks on as guard Jimmy Butler speaks to the media during a press conference at the Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Harris’ group shared the terms of his $6.05 billion bid to purchase the Washington Commanders with the NFL in recent days, sources told Front Office Sports. 

Although Harris and Commanders owner Dan Snyder have agreed to a framework of a deal, the transaction still isn’t final, which leaves an opening for another bidder. 

Sources close to Brian Davis told FOS that the former Duke men’s basketball player also forwarded his documentation to the NFL in an effort to bolster his mysterious $7 billion bid. 

Bank of America — the firm handling the sale on Snyder’s behalf — hasn’t commented on Davis’ bid or much else since Snyder put the franchise on the market in November. 

If successful, Davis would be the first Black controlling owner in NFL history. 

Sources told FOS that the funding appears to have originated from the Middle East, although there are still those with firsthand knowledge of the process who aren’t taking Davis’ bid all that seriously. 

“It must be a typo,” one source quipped to FOS. “They probably meant $7,000.”

The NFL’s full vetting process doesn’t begin until a winning bidder is selected and the application — which must be accompanied by a certified check for $25,000 — is sent to the league office. That kickstarts a review of the bidding group that typically takes more than a month before an ownership vote is scheduled. 

A three-fourths vote (at least 24 owners) is required for approval. 

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