Washington Sale Eminent…The Josh Harris Ownership Group

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March 31, 2023

by David Earl

Bid Officially Made

The light at the end of the tunnel appears closer than ever before for Dan Snyder’s departure as the owner of the Washington Redskins/WFT/Commanders. The travesty of an ownership reign that is (soon to be “was”) Danny Boy Snyder is undoubtedly one that warrants a 2 Episode (minimum) Netflix documentary on how a self-proclaimed fan of a once proud, gold standard-level organization brought an everlasting black cloud that resulted in this franchises meteoric fall into the abyss of mediocrity. Washington had the support of a loyal and well-traveled fan base in the league where home games were a pipe dream for the visiting team, but not today. Today, home games are far from an advantage for Washington, as the opposing team’s traveling fans often wash out the burgundy and gold with their team colors. We fans all share stories of this vile man who ripped away our love for the Burgundy and Gold while driving many away from this team permanently.  However, that is all about to change as multiple bids have apparently been placed. Today I dive into Josh Harris and his led ownership group that includes Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, and (wait for it) apparentlt Robert Griffin III.

Josh Harris and His Start

Josh Harris, whose net worth is $5.8 billion, co-founded Apollo Global Management in 1990 which became an asset manager for various companies that helped create capital solutions and support to fund their growth into a stronger business. Their compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2006 is 42% and has been one of the best in the business. This was his first successful business venture after his first employer, former investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. His resume throughout his time at Apollo Global is obviously strong but shows how he evolved from the failure of one financial institution he worked for, Drexel Burnham, to build the financial giant we see today. As that is his business background in a nutshell, but what does he bring to the sports world?

Philadelphia 76ers

Josh Harris’ ownership group bought the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011 for $287 million. Its current value is now at $3.15 billion. His most notable time in Philadelphia was due to “The Process” years, when Sam Hinkie was the team’s General Manager.  During this early time in Harris’ ownership, there were more misses than hits, including a questionable decision to pass on Kristaps Porzingis for Jahlil Okafor.  As a result, in a continuing effort to build a solid organization, Harris then went through multiple executives before settling on the team of Elton Brand as GM and President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. What you see today is a 76ers team regarded as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference with a legitimate chance to win the NBA championship. While I won’t go into great detail about the team’s recent acquisitions and basketball decisions, the one overall theme here is the antithesis of what Washington fans have become used to with Dan Snyder over the recent decades. While Dan obviously cannot touch Josh Harris’ business accolades, Harris has never been that meddling owner which marked Dan’s tenure for so many years. Just review his timeline of ownership and recap not only his poor football decisions but the callous decisions over his time regarding both employees and fans. The idea of Josh Harris not being willing to exceed the NBA luxury tax to acquire star players is not relevant to the NFL salary cap structure and is just a reach of a complaint for those who desire Jeff Bezos. If that is not enough to intrigue you, well, there is more!

New Jersey Devils

When Harris and partner David Blitzer purchased the New Jersey Devils in 2013, the team was one of the oldest teams in the NHL, and was also up against the salary cap. Since that time, both Bleacher Report and The Hockey Writers labeled the team as a young up-and-coming team in the midst of a youth movement.  Today, the Devils are number 3 in the league with 103 points and a goal differential of +53 (goals scored vs goals let up). While many look at this team as a Cinderella story, a deeper look at roster construction and development of young players shows more of a team giving notice to the rest of the league. Once again this is a situation in which Harris made decisions at the top to place the right people in charge, then simply allowed them their space and freedom to make the actual hockey decisions. Saying that the fact that it took 10 years to rebuild the Devils was a negative is just comparing apples and oranges, as the NFL is one of the few sports where a quick turnaround is more than doable. Teams just need an owner willing to put the right people in charge and then allow them to do their job without interfering at every turn like Dan Snyder. Harris proved himself capable of this again with the New Jersey Devils.

Josh Harris Community Footprint

Another thing Washington fans are not accustomed to seeing is an owner who is not isolated and only interested in individual success and gain. Since acquiring the 76ers and Devils organizations, Harris went through the effort of establishing young foundations for both franchises. Each foundation is focused on inspiring future generations by supplying resources for valuable future skills development, as well as recent mentorship initiatives. Along with these youth organizations, Josh and his wife founded Harris Philanthropies in 2014 where their “grantmaking is focused on partnering with organizations that enable opportunities for at-risk youth, health and wellness initiatives, and broad-based community growth.” Through this foundation, they have donated to many causes, such as  homeless shelters, a local Philadelphia housing counseling agency, and many other local donations.  You can read about them here.

The Partners

  • Mitchell Rales (Net worth $5.6 Billion): A native of the Bethesda, Maryland area, he and his brother merged a real estate investment trust into Danaher, which has generated over $29 billion, and specializes in technologies in the health and science industries. He then created a spin-off company, Fortive Corporation, in 2016 which has grown to a net worth of $29.45 billion and leads organizations into more innovative technologies, especially those that benefit the environment. For an extensive profile of Mitchell Rales, who donated $1.5 billion in shares of Danaher to charitable foundations, check out this link.
  • Magic Johnson (Net worth $602 million): After his retirement, Magic Johnson started Magic Johnson Enterprises in 1987, which “provides high-quality products and services that focus primarily on ethnically diverse and underserved urban communities through strategic alliances, investments, consulting, and endorsements.” Today its reported worth is an estimated $1 billion, spanning several industries. There are many investments made through Magic Johnson Enterprises including, most notably, a minority share in the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Conclusion

As a whole, this fan base really cannot be too picky on who owns this team, as the bar is the lowest of any professionally run organization. The levels to which Dan has sunk this team may not even be comparable, although it’s of course debatable. The point here is the pathetic run of ownership with Dan Snyder is clearly near an end and of all the possible ownership groups out there, Josh Harris truly brings the most upside. This love affair for Jeff Bezos is purely about name recognition and just the size of his overall net worth, because his resume certainly falls short of Harris. His arrogance is no secret, and neither is the extent to which he is hands-on with everything he touches (does that remind you of any?).  Bezos almost seems like a taller version of Dan without the reported scandals. With Bezos having zero experience in owning a professional franchise, the 10 years Harris took to improve the Devils could seem like a blink of an eye compared to what Bezos may bring as the owner. A leopard doesn’t change his spots – Bezos reportedly has power trips and created a terrible workplace environment at Amazon (that sounds familiar). Is there truly any indication he will turn a new leaf?

The man has been very successful in earning tons of money doing it his way since the beginning. That mentality will surely carry over into NFL ownership early on with no guarantees of change. In contrast, Harris went through his lumps as a sports franchise owner and made the kind of adjustments you want to see as a hands-off owner. Now, both of his two teams are on a path to perennial success. The Harris group is composed of self-made men who have not only experienced failure/adversity along the way but have made the adjustments to rebound and succeed. Bezos has never truly, at any level, experienced any adversity. Are you sure you want to see him potentially face that owning Washington having no frame of reference on how he will respond? This organization is on the back end of two-plus decades of mediocre performances, so be careful what you wish. 20 years from now we all could be still in this exact state minus the scandals (hopefully).