The $6 Billion Bargain

ON WALL STREET, RISK-FREE INVESTMENTS ARE THE HOLY GRAIL, SO NO PRICE IS TOO HIGH TO PAY FOR AN NFL TEAM. NOW A NEW WAVE OF PRIVATE EQUITY OWNERS LIKE THE WASHINGTON COMMANDERS' JOSH HARRIS ARE ENTERING THE GAME WITH MOUNTAINS OF CASH-AND NOTHING TO LOSE.

- Maneet Ahuja and Hank Tucker

AS 63,000 DIEHARD FANS pour into Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, for the Buccaneers’ season opener against the Washington Commanders, billionaire Josh Harris, Washington’s new controlling owner, is feeling the heat. It is 90 degrees on this early September afternoon, and sweat is seeping through his maroon polo. He paces the field peri­meter with security in tow, beaming as he shakes hands, poses for pictures and signs hats for Commanders supporters praying for a winning season (the team’s last one was in 2016). Harris hears an eager fan shouting his name. His T-shirt reads: “We almost always almost win.” A humorously defeatist attitude befitting the last 30 years of Washington football.

“They went through a lot, and they’ve been there a long time waiting for this,” says the 59-year-old Harris. “Having grown up [near D.C.], it’s very personal for me. Obviously, you have to deliver, right? I stay up at night thinking about that.”

As the Harris era begins, there’s a lot at stake. The $6 billion he paid for the Commanders last year—besting interest from the likes of Jeff Bezos and Tilman Fertitta—en­ded Daniel Snyder’s scandal-plagued tenure and set a record for the sale of an NFL team. To get the deal done, Harris assembled a 23-person ownership group that included David Blitzer—a top exec at Blackstone and Harris’ partner in his other sports endeavors through Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment—as well as NBA legend Magic Johnson and billionaires Mitch Rales (Danaher Corp.) and Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO.

Harris didn’t make any rash changes after the deal closed in July 2023, but after a disappointing 4-13 season, he cleaned house, bringing in a new head coach, general manager and quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, the second pick in this spring’s draft.