Entrepreneur and NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson added to his voluminous business portfolio by officially becoming part owner of the Washington Commanders.
NFL owners voted unanimously Thursday to approve the sale of the team to a group led by billionaire Josh Harris that includes Johnson, the five-time NBA champion. The group is acquiring the Commanders property from embattled owner Daniel Snyder for a record $6.05 billion.
The Commanders was a troubled franchise under Snyder, who found himself embroiled in controversy over much of his ownership. The NFL investigated him twice for inappropriate workplace conduct, and one investigation ended Thursday. He was fined 60 million dollars after attorney Mary Jo White discovered that the team failed to disclose revenue it was supposed to share with other franchises and that Snyder had harassed an employee.
Johnson, formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers, will be the first black co-owner of the franchise. He said he is aware that the team’s image needs an internal facelift in an interview with NBC News’ Craig Melvin that will air Friday morning on the “TODAY” show.
“Well, first of all, you need to let employees know that you respect them and that it will be a safe place to work,” Johnson said. “And we want you to have a winning attitude too. These owners just can’t have a winning attitude. It has to trickle down to the employees. And then it has to get to the coaches and the players.
“So if we respect them, they will respect us and go to the wall for us. And so, I’ve been on so many different sports teams… and we know how valuable these employees are, because they make it work every day. And then we’re going to hire the best people. We already have a lot of great people. So this year it’s all about listening, watching and really learning.”
Johnson, 63, has stakes with Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC. His company, Magic Johnson Enterprises, also owned more than 100 Starbucks between 1998 and 2010. He sold them and made $100 million.
The foray into the NFL could be his biggest leap yet. The league is the queen of sports and wins over the viewing public during its six-month season.
