ASHBURN, Va. — A group led by Josh Harris that includes Magic Johnson has agreed to buy the NFL’s Washington Commanders from longtime owner Dan Snyder and his family.

The sides announced the deal in a joint statement Friday, roughly a month after they reached an agreement in principle on the sale for a record $6.05 billion.

The deal is the largest for a North American professional sports franchise, surpassing the $4.55 billion Walmart heir Robert Walton paid for the Denver Broncos last year. It is still pending approval of three-quarters of owners and other customary closing conditions.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement for the sale of the Commanders franchise with Josh Harris, an area native, and his impressive group of partners,” Snyder and his wife, Tanya, said in the statement. “We look forward to the prompt completion of this transaction and to rooting for Josh and the team in the coming years.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said league staff and its finance committee will review details of the proposed transaction. Owners meet later this month in Minnesota, but they are only expected to get an update on the situation then, with a formal vote expected in the coming months.

Snyder has owned the team since 1999, when he bought his favorite boyhood team for $750 million, and despite mounting criticism repeatedly said he’d never sell. That changed after multiple investigations by the league and Congress into Washington’s workplace misconduct and potential financial improprieties. The congressional investigation found Snyder played a role in a toxic culture.

Harris’ group includes Washington-area billionaire Mitchell Rales, the basketball Hall of Famer Johnson and David Blitzer, among others. Harris and Blitzer have owned the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers since 2011 and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils since 2013.

Harris grew up in the Washington suburb of Chevy Chase, Maryland. He said he got to experience the excitement of the team winning three Super Bowls and establishing a long-term culture of success.

TOM BRADY might be coming on board with the Las Vegas Raiders after all. Only not as their quarterback, a possibility that has been speculated about for a few years now.

No, the retired seven-time Super Bowl champion has his eye on something even bigger than lining up behind center for the Raiders. According to a league source, Brady and Raiders owner Mark Davis are in talks on a deal that would lead to Brady purchasing a stake in the Raiders and becoming a limited partner of the club.

If it comes to fruition, it will be the second time Davis and Brady teamed up on an ownership level with one of the professional teams Davis owns. Brady recently purchased a stake in Davis’ WNBA Las Vegas Aces.

Their Aces partnership appears to have lit a fuse that could lead to an even deeper relationship. Davis hinted at that possibility last month at the NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix when he spoke about his admiration for Brady and his vision for the future together.

“I hope for a long-term relationship in a number of things,” Davis said at the time. “He’s a unique individual.”

PATRIOTS: According to reports, Dox Aitken will try out for the Patriots at their rookie minicamp this weekend. Aitken was an All-American in lacrosse for the University of Virginia. He’s also the school’s all-time career point and goal leader by a midfielder.

Aitken does have a football background as he played in high school. He briefly left Virginia to go to Villanova to play football in 2020, but returned to play lacrosse after the fall when COVID-19 canceled his college football season. He initially went to Villanova to play wide receiver.

PACKERS: Green Bay addressed one of its major positions of need by signing former Houston Texans safety Jonathan Owens.

Owens, who turns 28 on July 22, is coming off a career-best season in which he started 17 games. He had 84 solo tackles and 125 total tackles to rank second on the Texans in both categories. He appeared in a total of 31 games for the Texans from 2019-22.

Owens and his wife – gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles – made posts on their social media accounts celebrating the signing.