Daniel Snyder’s reign of terror in Washington has officially come to an end.
The purchase of the Commanders by Josh Harris from Snyder has been approved unanimously by the NFL team owners after this week’s deliberations.
Harris, 58, a private equity investor and owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, bought the football team for a record-setting $6.05 billion, surpassing Rob Walton’s $4.65 billion buy of the Broncos in June 2022.
Snyder, 58, bought the Commanders and its stadium in Landover, Md., in 1999 for $800 million.
NFL owners convened Thursday morning for a league meeting where a vote to ratify the sale was held.
The eight-owner finance committee then met Thursday afternoon for a formal vote and recommended the approval of the deal to the other owners.
In an informal vote during a remote meeting Monday, the finance committee reportedly voted 7-0 in favor of recommending the approval of the deal — one member did not participate in the meeting.
Harris, who is now the official owner of his hometown football team, inked a non-exclusive agreement with Snyder in April, followed by an exclusive deal in May.
The Commanders announced they would be considering offers for the team in November.
With the Washington purchase, Harris and his partner David Blitzer — of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment — must sell their shares in the Steelers.
The Commanders are primed for a much-needed new era with fresh front office leadership.
Snyder, the now disgraced executive, departs the league after a 24-year stint with heaps of controversy in his wake.
Despite not winning a Super Bowl or even making a conference championship game appearance, Snyder’s slew of losing seasons is not the main thing he will be remembered for.
During his tenure, the NFL launched two investigations into the Commanders for both sexual harassment and toxic workplace claims.
In 2018, former Washington cheerleaders said they were sexually harassed and intimidated while working for the franchise, followed by more than 20 additional female former employees detailing similar experiences in the proceeding years.
The NFL announced in July 2021 that the Commanders would be fined $10 million after the first investigation.
Snyder’s wife, Tanya, was tasked with assuming control of the team’s daily operations.
At a February 2022 congressional roundtable, Tiffani Johnston, a former cheerleader and marketing manager for the team, said Snyder harassed her at a team dinner, put his hand on her thigh and pushed her toward his limo.
The NFL opened its second investigation into the team following those reports.
Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden’s October 2021 resignation was wrapped in an email leak that showed exchanges between him and Washington’s general manager Bruce Allen from ten years prior where he described NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith using a racist trope.
The emails were discovered during the Commander’s toxic workplace investigation, prompting Gruden to believe both Snyder and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had a hand in the leak and his downfall, which Gruden then sued the league for.
Federal investigators in Virginia are also now looking into misconduct from Snyder and his former team, tied to a $55 million loan taken out without his partners knowing.
Harris is not only tasked with rebooting the culture on the field, but off of it too.
Harris’ investor group includes Mitchell Rales, the co-founder of the Danaher Corporation; Washington-area venture capitalist Mark Ein; NBA great Magic Johnson; and Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Google.