There are a few owners in sports who are considered "super owners." These billionaires collect sports teams like Infinity Stones and demand greatness from them all. Of all the billionaires doing this, nobody is doing it with the stealth aura of Josh Harris.
Harris started buying up sports teams because they were a great investment. He started with the Philadelphia 76ers. He and his partner David Blitzer paid $280 million for the NBA franchise. They are now worth $4.8 billion according to Forbes. That's an insane return on investment.
Almost as good is the return Harris and Blitzer got from the New Jersey Devils. The group bought the Devils after a tumultuous money situation ended with Jeff Vanderbeek selling his team for $320 million. A recent ranking claimed the Devils were worth an eye-popping $2 billion. Again, this is an insane return on investment.
However, Harris started to make the NFL his goal, and even though the prices had already inflated to these insane levels, he was determined to get into the most presitigious ownership group in the world. There are 32 primary owners in the NFL (well, 31 and the city of Green Bay), and they are some of the richest people on Earth. It's a prestigious club that Harris joined last year when he bought the Washington Commanders for more than $6 billion.
The Commanders immediately felt success, which was a change for Harris. He was used to "The Process" in Philadelphia and a sustained rebuild in New Jersey when he first became owner of these franchises. Sure, they netted him Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Joel Embiid, but was it worth it?
He now sees what could have been with the right moves after the Commanders ran all the way to the NFC Championship Game against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles. They did this all on the backs of rookie QB Jayden Daniels, who is one of the newest superstars in the sport.
Then just last week, Harris' soccer team, Crystal Palace FC, felt success of their own. They won the FA Cup for the first time. It will be a huge celebration, as the victory parade is set for Monday afternoon in England.
Harris now knows success with two franchises, and it's the two franchises he's invested in most recently. Will that put extended pressure on the Devils to perform? Will Tom Fitzgerald start to feel his tush cooking after seeing his owners enjoy the spoils of winning?
The Devils aren't particularly close to a Stanley Cup after a first-round exit, but we've seen things change quickly. Still, the success of Harris's franchises should not change the trajectory of the Devils. Continue to build around stars, and find new opportunities for offense. Still, it's hard to see Harris's other franchises and not get a little jealous. Well, not of the 76ers. Nobody is jealous of the situation they find themselves in.