Commanders Rumors: NFL's Finance Committee Has 'Concerns' About Josh Harris' $6B Deal

Members of the NFL's eight-owner finance committee have raised concerns regarding Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris' proposed $6.05 billion deal to purchase the Washington Commanders, according to Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post.

Those concerns are not necessarily dealbreakers. However, a source told the Washington Post that it appears unlikely that league owners can approve the transaction during league meetings in Minneapolis on May 22 and 23.

"Everyone wants it to get done," a source told the Washington Post. "I'm not saying it can't get done. I don't know. We'll have to see."

Maske and Jhabvala provided some details regarding potential issues:

"According to that person, questions were raised during the meeting about some aspects of the deal. That person said the agreement is complex and the financing includes an unusually large number of limited partners. Harris also must demonstrate, that person said, that he has sufficient liquidity to be the principal owner of the team under the terms of what would be a record-setting sale. Another person said the finance committee emerged from Wednesday's meeting with less clarity and certainty about the deal than it had beforehand."

Even if those concerns aren't alleviated by May 22, it's still possible that the Harris deal could be approved before the season.

The league has the option to call a special owners meeting to approve the deal this summer. If the NFL wants to get this done sooner rather than later, then that would be the prudent option give that the owners' next meeting takes place in October.

The finance committee met for two-and-a-half hours on Wednesday in the NFL's Manhattan offices as part of the league's regularly scheduled meetings, per the Washington Post.

NFL rules state that at least 24 of the league's 32 owners must approve a franchise sale for it to go through. It's up to the finance committee to consider and vet such deals and recommend their opinions to the rest of the league's owners.

The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan noted earlier Wednesday that there are "elements of the deal" that in turn "would break the mold for an NFL franchise sale." Of note, Harris' group includes 17 limited partners, and they "will require extensive vetting, with investors from outside the country making the process more challenging."

"I still believe it will get approval," a source close to Harris told Kaplan. "It's dragging through the NFL because they've never had to evaluate this type of bid. The NFL's choice is getting Dan out [versus] working through Josh's complexity. I think they'll find a way, but no guarantees."

Harris bid to buy the team from Dan Snyder, who purchased the franchise in 1999 and accepted the Devils/76ers owner's deal.

However, Snyder is under investigation by the NFL and the federal government, making the sale more complicated.

Per the Post:

"Snyder and the team are under investigation by the league and by federal authorities in the Eastern District of Virginia. They previously have been investigated by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability (previously called the House Committee on Oversight and Reform) and reached settlements with the attorneys general of D.C. and Maryland related to allegations of withholding deposits from ticket holders."

ESPN's John Keim reported in April this was a fully financed and nonexclusive deal. In other words, another group could swoop in and purchase the team, although that too would need approval from league owners.

Of note, Canadian businessman Steve Apostolopoulos has submitted a fully-financed $6 billion bid, and he was said to "still be involved in the sale process," per Keim.

Ultimately, there's no news suggesting the Harris deal can fall apart by any means, but signs are pointing to it taking a bit longer now.