Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos submits $6 billion bid for Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders officially have a bidding war, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter’s latest report. Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulous submitted the team’s second official offer, following a matching, fully-financed bid of $6 billion by the Josh Harris/Mitchell Rales group.

Both offers reportedly satify current owner Dan Snyder’s asking price at $6 billion.

The Josh Harris/Mitchell Rales group, which now includes Magic Johnson, and Apostolopoulous, submitted bids well over the last record-setting NFL team sale. The Denver Broncos went for $4.65 billion to the Robert Walton-led group last year. According to reporter Scott Abraham, Josh Harris currently owns a small stake of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which he would have to sell if he buys Commanders.

Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos also has submitted a fully-funded $6 billon offer for the Commanders, sources tell me and @WindhorstESPN.

With two groups known to have submitted bids, there is a growing belief a purchase agreement could be in place by the NFL Draft.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 28, 2023

ESPN recently shared that Apostolopoulos, founder of Six Ventures Inc. private equity, recently had discussions to buy the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan. However, he chose to focus on the Commanders bid.

Schefter’s report also dropped the bomb that the sales agreements for the winning bidder could come through before the NFL draft.

“With two groups known to have submitted bids,” Schefter tweeted, “there is a growing belief a purchase agreement could be in place by the NFL Draft.”

Commanders nearing sale after submission of bids

Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Houston Rockets, has also expressed an interest in buying the Commanders. According to ESPN, another anonymous group also toured the Commanders facilities in the process of considering a purchase.

Once Dan Snyder proceeds to select one of his bids for the team, the next move lies with the NFL. The team’s owners have a say in whether a group can purchase another team. An approval requires ‘yes’ votes from three-quarters of the owners.

Snyder originally bought the franchise for a then-record-setting $800 million in 1999. Ahead of the potential sale, Front Office Sports tweeted that Forbes recently valued the Commanders franchise at $5.6 billion, meaning the sale of the team for $6 billion would be a major win for Snyder.

Pressure both from the public and fellow owners for the Snyders to vamoose from the league has grown in years and ratcheted up throughout the season. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has spoken publicly about how perhaps enough owners wish to eschew the owners of the lately scandal-ridden Washington franchise.

This offseason, the NFLPA released team report cards. The report card graded teams for eight categories that the players believe best encapsulate general working conditions. The categories were: Treatment of Families, Nutrition, Weight Room, Strength Staff, Training Room, Training Staff, Locker Room and Travel. Dan Snyder’s Commanders ranked last out of all 32 teams.