76ers Co-Owner Josh Harris Buys Washington Commanders For $6 Billion: Reports

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Billionaire businessman and co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, Josh Harris, has agreed to purchase the NFL's Washington Commanders in a historic deal, according to multiple media sources.

Harris is the leading investor in large group that finalized the successful sale for a pro-sports record $6 billion on Thursday, as first reported by Sportico and later independently confirmed by NBC Washington and ESPN. No professional sports franchise has ever been sold for a larger sum, as the deal easily beats the $4.5 billion price tag put on the Denver Broncos a year ago.

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Harris' group also includes NBA legend Magic Johnson and billionaire Mitchell Rales.

Philadelphia sports fans were quick to note that Harris now owns two of the biggest rivals of both the Flyers and the Eagles.

The "PHLEaglesNation" fan group shared a photo of an enormous eye overlooking a structure on social media, with the caption "Josh Harris on top of the Wells Fargo Center spying on Eagles practices across the street."

WIP reacted with a simple thinking face emoji.

The group bought it from controversial and beleaguered owner Dan Snyder, who had overseen the organization's refusal to give up its racist "Redskins" moniker for decades. Snyder and the franchise eventually caved to enormous pressure brought in 2020, sparked in part by the social reckoning that came in the wake of the George Floyd protests.

Snyder had purchased the team for $800 million in 1999, a fraction of the billions he sold it for.

Harris, meanwhile, is an investor who grew up a Washington football fan in Maryland. He later attended the University of Pennsylvania and bought the 76ers in 2011.

After the Broncos deal a year ago, the next most expensive sports franchise sales are the Phoenix Suns and Mercury for $4 billion, and the New York Mets for $2.4 billion to hedge fund owner Steve Cohen.