OK. Thank you. All set.
OK, let me make a few comments about Josh.
I think Josh is going to be a great addition
to the NFL and his ownership gr.
He has a remarkable business re,
not just in finance but also now in sports.
And I think he's a a person who cares
deeply about not just his asset,
but his more importantly his
communities and how he gives ba.
So we look forward to having
Josh a part of the league.
He's brought a an incredible grp
of investors and partners that l
seem to have ties to Washington.
As someone who grew up in Washington,
I know how important that franchise is
to that community and the franc.
I know is in good hands with this group,
so we're thrilled to have them
and so we'll invite Josh up,
he'll take a few questions and n
I'll be back for a few more questions.
And hello everyone. It's an exciting day
and Commissioner, thank you for voting
for us and allowing us to be partners
and great stewards in the NFL a.
We're excited for your trust
and we will not let you down.
So as a as a lifelong Washington football
fan, they grew up in Chevy Chas.
I'm incredibly excited and humbled by the
opportunity to serve alongside my partners
as stewards of this great franc.
On behalf of the city of Washington, DC,
one of my first memories as a child was.
Walking down East Capitol Stree,
walking in the RFK Stadium,
hearing the roar of the crowd,
you know, feeling the rumble,
I grew up watching Sonny Jergen,
Billy Kilmer, Joe Theisman,
Mark Ripon, Doug Williams.
You know, the Hogs,
Joe Gibbs, Darryl Green,
our Monk and three Super Bowls.
And I remember that's the Washington.
Then Redskins, Now, Commanders,
that I remember.
This franchise is part of who I.
And who I've become as a person.
But being a fan is not enough.
To be successful, we understand
that we need to win championshi,
create a positive impact on the community,
and create incredible memories d
great experiences for our fan b,
much like I had as a youth
growing up in Washington.
We'll have more to say in the days that come,
but today I want to leave it he.
To our team and the incredible
fan base in Washington,
a new era of Washington football is here.
It's time to get to work.
Thank you,
Josh is this obviously
wasn't up and down process.
What are your feelings about
the process as you get
to the end of? And also, do you have a
sense of the significance that this day
holds for both the fan base
and for the league as a whole?
You look, I mean, obviously
it was a long process.
Sometimes that's what happens.
We're very excited to get to work and to
start the new era of Washington football.
And yeah, I mean, we,
we are humbled and awed by the l
of responsibility that we have o
to take care of the city and to
win championships and to, you k,
really excite the fans again.
You, you just stated how you grw
up as a Washington fan. I did.
Has it been hard for you to
see how the the team is kind of
deteriorated over the last coupe
decades and what do you feel isa
responsibility to kind of rebuild that?
And how you know,
is it an immense responsibility?
Yeah, look, I mean, obviously
it's an amazing day for me
and very exciting,
but I've had many sleepless nights and
I will have many sleepless nigh.
Like, I'm going to sweat this.
I feel an awesome sense of
responsibility to the city of Washington.
I know what I got to do and
ultimately that comes down to winning.
And it's not easy.
There are 31 other owners
that are good at what they do.
There are 31 other cities.
But it's on me and it's on our
ownership group to deliver and
that's what we're going to do.
Hey, Josh, Congrats you've talked about.
The glory years and everything d
all of that was at RFK Stadium,
Roger Goodell, last time we spoke he said
he understands how important RF,
how important is RFK to you andd
how do you view that in the prif
the the new brand and are there a lot
of things for you to consider t?
You
look, I mean obviously we're jut
getting here and we're on the ee
of training camp which starts yu
know obviously this weekend ando
next week and you know our first
priority is like going to be football.
And what we do on the field,
we're hard at work trying to
figure out how we improve fan
experience and then we're goingo
start engaging with the communi.
Those are our three priorities.
And obviously there's a lot of things.
I mean, what I love about Washington,
it has incredibly passionate football
fans and they want to talk about a lot
of things and obviously that's one of
them and we're going to be focused on that.
But right now it's day one and it's going
to take a while to unpack what really
makes sense as far as RFKI mean, obviously.
I understand.
It's the spiritual home of the
history of the Commanders.
Hey there. I know that you havea
home in Philadelphia, New Jerse,
obviously, owning different
teams and different sports.
How involved you see yourself
being with the Commanders?
Do you see yourself being in
Washington a lot of the time?
Yes. So look, first of all,
my mom is in Washington,
my friends, where I grew up,
she's. Still there.
So I'm going to be watching a l.
I'm going to, I need to be pres.
I'm going to be part of the community again.
I'm really looking forward to cg
home cousins friends and and so yeah,
I have a lot going on.
But you know this is incredibly
important right now for this ciy
and I'm going to be remembered r
what I do in Washington And so that's
not lost on me and so I'm all i.
Let's go next then from the athletic.
Hey, Josh. You mentioned the
football side of things opposit.
You've got a lot to evaluate.
But how right now what,
how much have you been already studying and
how much have you been kind of aware of,
you know, what's been going on
on that side of the building?
Yeah, so we haven't really
had a lot of access. When
you before you own an NFL team
or pick picked on an NFL team,
really there's a lot of
different rules to stay away.
So we've had, I've met,
I've obviously met the football staff.
And I've obviously witnessed wht
they've done from the outside in terms
of some of the improvements they brought
to the team over the last few y.
It's a big important season.
But you know, day one we're goio
be engaging with them and tryino
understand how they take and what they do.
And so for the for the first season, right,
we're getting here right at training camp.
The reality is that a lot of wht
you do as an ownership to affect
A-Team happens prior to this po.
And so we're going to be doing a lot of
listening and learning and watching and,
you know,
watching what Ron and his staff.
Thank you, Mr. Harris.
We appreciate you being.
Thank you. See you soon.
All right, that's our first
time hearing from Josh Harris.
He's kind of been in the backgrd
throughout this whole process,
the new owner of the
Washington Commanders there.
And you know what stood out to ?
He says a new era of
Washington football is here.
And he really touched on improvg
the fan experience, getting thrh
to the fans first and foremost.
Yeah, a lot of key takeaways.
They're also talking about whate
feels is the level of responsibility.
Taking over this franchise,
improving the brand,
improving the fan experience and making it
a more welcoming franchise for everyone.
And then there was the subtlenes
of his opening.
Statements talking about RFK
and reliving the glory days of
walking down East Capitol Stree,
people asking questions about
that because we know a stadium
deal is going to be one thing
that he's going to have to deal
with here in the next year or s.
Yeah, it's a lot to figure out.
All right.
So we want to know,
what are you most looking forwad
to under this new ownership?
Yeah,
we want to share these thoughts
with with you and we want
you to share them with us.
Use the #WSA Nine to share your
thoughts with us on social medi.
So then we can there shut
them back on television.
You can also text us what you t.
Text us to
202-895-5599.