Find out who owns the Washington Commanders NFL team, the owner's net worth, source of wealth, and ownership history.
The Washington Commanders are based in the Washington metropolitan area and are members of the National Football Conference East Division.
The commanders are one of the most successful and competitive in the NFL. So how do they get their funding, and wh is bankrolling the team?
Who owns the Washington Commanders?
The Washington Commanders are the current owner of Joshua Jordan Harris, who took over the helm of affairs in 2023. He purchased the franchise team for a record $6.05 billion.
Jordan Harris became the new owner of the Washington Commanders alongside a group of investors. They include:
Mitch Rales, Magic Johnson, David Blitzer, Mark Ein, Lee Ainslie, Eric Holoman, Michael Li, Marc Lipschultz, Michael Sapir, Eric Schmidt, Andy Snyder, Doug Ostrover. Others are the Morgan and the Santo Domingo families.
List of Washington Commanders owners
Joshua Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris is the lead investor in the group. Of course he is not new to this after owning some of the biggest franchises in the country. He is an investor with major interest in sports team ownership and philanthropy.
Harris is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm with headquarters in New York City.
Net worth: Jordan Harris has an estimated net worth of US$9 billion according to figures from Wikipedia.
He is the managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils and also the general partner of Crystal Palace of the Premier League and a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing.
Mitch Rales
Mitchell Rales is an American businessman and art collector. He has made a significant fortune in the art world and now ventures into the sports business.
Mitchell Rales, alongside his brother Steven Rales, are the owners of the Danaher Corporation. He also owns the Glenstone art museum with his wife, Emily Wei. According to figures from Forbes in 2024, he is estimated to be worth $4.8 billion.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson is a businessman and former professional basketball player and famously played for the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to Wikipedia, he had $240 million in the acquisition of the Washington Commanders. His interest in the NFL led to his investments in the ownership of the team.
Magic Johnson also owns other businesses and sports franchise teams like the Washington Spirit of the NWSL, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks, and Los Angeles FC. According to figures from Forbes, Magic Johnson has an estimated net worth of $1.6B.
David Blitzer
David Scott Blitzer is an American investor who also has a strong interest in the sports ownership business. He holds the position of chairman of Blackstone, a private equity firm.
David Blitzer, alongside Jordan Harris, whom he frequently partners with, completed the takeover of the Commanders.
He is also a managing partner of the New Jersey Devils of the NHL and the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and MLB side Cleveland Guardians.
He is also in the management group of Global Football Holdings, which owns major European teams, including Crystal Palace, FC Augsburg, and Brøndby IF. According to figures from Forbes, David Blitzer has an estimated net worth of $3.1B.
Mark Ein
Mark David is a venture capitalist and one of the names in the sports ownership business. He is the owner of the Washington City Paper.
In 2023, he was one of the investments led by Jordan Harris. He is currently a limited partner of the Washington Commanders following the takeover.
Mark is the owner of the Washington Justice professional esports. According to Benzinga, he has an estimated net worth of $8.82 million.
Lee Ainslie
Lee Ainslie is another name on the list of the ownership group of the Washington Commanders. He founded Maverick Capital, which is a hedge fund firm.
Following the takeover, he holds a minority stake in the team. According to Yahoo, he has an estimated net worth of $1B.
Eric Holoman
Michael Li
Michael Li is one of the investors in the Jordan Harris group. According to Wilson Sonsini's website, Michael Li is the owner of Range Group.
Doug Ostrover
Doug Ostrover started Owl Rock Capital Partners, an asset management company, alongside Marc Lipschultz and has been in the career for a long time.
Marc Lipschultz
Marc Lipschultz started an asset management company, Owl Rock Capital Partners, alongside Doug Ostrover. He has spent several years in the finance industry.
Michael Sapir
Eric Schmidt
Eric Schmidt is one of the investors in the Harris Group. He is a businessman and former computer engineer. He was famously known for his role as the chief executive officer of Google and Alphabet Inc.
He owns a minority stake in the Washington Commanders takeover. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he has an estimated net worth of US$37.8 billion.
Andy Snyder
Mitchell Morgan & family
The Mitchell Morgan and family stake in the Washington Commanders, as part of the ownership group.
Mitchell Morgan owns Morgan Properties in Pennsylvania. It owns more than 350 properties.
Morgan is one of the largest real estate companies in the United States.
Morgan and family are worth $5.5B, according to figures from Forbes.
The Santo Domingo family
The Santo Domingo family manages a conglomerate with over 100 companies under its control. It owns the Santo Domingo Group and a minority stake in the Commanders.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, the family has an estimated net worth of $13.7B.
The Washington Commanders ownership history.
Throughout its existence, new owners have continued to emerge, just as with other NFL franchise teams.
George Preston Marshall (1932–1965)
George Preston Marshall was the first owner of the Washington Commanders.
He founded the Washington Commanders MLS franchise, originally as the Boston Braves, in 1932. The team was renamed Redskins a year later.
George Preston led the team to lift the Eastern Division in 1933. However, after a few seasons and with the start of the 1937 NFL season, the team was relocated to Washington.
George Preston went ahead and sold about 25% of the franchise to Jack Kent Cooke for $350,000 in 1960.
Edward Bennett Williams (1965–1979)
Edward Bennett was the second owner of the Washington Commanders. Apart from his interest in sports ownership, he was also a lawyer and businessman.
Williams initially acquired about five percent of the ownership of the Washington Commanders in 1962 and was appointed to lead the team's daily operations before eventually becoming the president.
He later went on to acquire the shares owned by George Preston Marshall following his passing.
Williams sold majority shares of the team to minority partner Jack Kent Cooke in 1974 and eventually sold the remaining shares in 1985.
Jack Kent Cooke (1979–1997)
Jack Kent Cooke was the third majority shareholder of the Washington Redskins. He initially purchased a 25% share of Edward Bennett Williams worth $300,000.
He became the controlling owner in 1979 and the principal owner in 1985. Under his leadership, the team was successful as it went on to win three Super Bowl titles.
He became the first owner to lead to the franchise championship since it was founded.
Cooke estate (1997–1999)
Following the passing of Jack Kent Cooke, the team president and his sons managed the operations of the franchise before an eventual sale.
Daniel Snyder (1999–2023)
Daniel Snyder bought the team for the Cooke estate in 1999. He purchased the team alongside the Jack Kent Cooke Stadium for $800 million.