Fans of Washington’s NFL franchise — new and old — were ready to celebrate last week when news broke that owner Daniel Snyder had agreed in principle to sell the Commanders to a group led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris.
However, the deal was far from done, as it was considered non-exclusive, meaning Snyder could still entertain other bids. Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos still believed he was in the mix at the time the news broke regarding Harris.
In Peter King’s weekly column for NBC Sports titled “Football Morning in America,” he gave Washington fans more hope when he said Harris spoke with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last Wednesday. It was Thursday when the news hit that Snyder and Harris had reached a preliminary deal.
Why would this be significant?
From King:
When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the leader of the prospective new-owner group, Josh Harris, spoke on Wednesday, no one knew exactly what the topic was. But as one ownership source told me over the weekend, “Calls like that would be Harris saying he had a tentative deal with Snyder.” I believe that’s likely, and word spread through ownership circles that, basically, Ding dong, the witch is dead. Snyder’s selling!
There you have it.
Everyone knows Snyder is selling, and it’s happening soon. And it certainly sounds like Harris is inching closer to becoming Washington’s next owner.