Josh Harris is moving forward to become the owner of the Washington Commanders. Sportico reported on Thursday the Harris group, which includes fellow billionaire Mitchell Rales and NBA legend Magic Johnson, agreed in principle with Dan Snyder to purchase the Commanders for $6.05 billion.
However, the deal between Harris and Snyder is fully financed, not yet signed, and is non-exclusive, per ESPN’s John Keim. Non-exclusive means other suitors may still bid on the team. That leaves the door open for Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos, who is interested in buying the NFL franchise.
Or it could mean someone else can swoop in. Could that be former Duke player Brian Davis?
According to WUSA-9’s Darren M. Haynes, Davis placed a $7 billion bid, all cash March 21.
Haynes isn’t the first to link Davis to the Commanders’ sale. Last month, The Sports Junkies of 106.7 the Fan in D.C. reported Davis was preparing an all-cash $7 billion bid.
According to Haynes, Davis raised capital by selling his intellectual property.
Davis offered to give $1 billion to Snyder within 24 hours. Then, he would provide the remaining $6 billion within seven days. He is also willing to indemnify Snyder, which means Davis will take on any legal liability related to the ongoing investigations into Snyder and the team.
Snyder reportedly requested indemnity from the NFL owners. Yet, the other league owners squawked at Snyder’s request.
There is skepticism surrounding Davis and his attempt to buy the Commanders. His net worth is relatively unknown. Haynes adds Davis has a $50 billion valuation for his assets and intellectual property for his company, Urban Echo Energy.
Davis previously was a minority owner of D.C. United of Major League Soccer with his former Duke teammate Christian Laettner. Davis and Laettner got bought out in 2009. They also were minority owners of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.
They tried to gain a majority stake in the Grizzlies. However, a deal fell through because Davis could not raise enough money. NBA legend Scottie Pippen sued Davis and Laettner over money Pippen used to finance their bid.
Meanwhile, shortly after Haynes’ report, A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reported that Harris remains on track to finalize its tentative deal to purchase the Commanders.
Nonetheless, Snyder may be waiting to see if Davis can deliver. The deal with Harris could also be a tactic to push Davis. It’s also possible he understands there is a chance Davis cannot and is moving forward with a more reliable bid.
NFL sources to The Washington Post called the $6.05 billion price tag a “little disappointing.”
Another said they thought the team would fetch $7 billion and blamed Snyder’s disinterest in Amazon founder Jeff Bezos that the price fell short of expectations.
“I don’t know why you’d cut out the one guy who could pay that,” the source said, per The Post.
Will Davis pull off the $7 billion purchase? Can Harris finalize his deal before Davis or someone like Apostolopoulos?
