Is D.C. on the verge of becoming a football town again? Judging by reactions to yesterday’s news that Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder agreed in principle to sell the team to a group led by Montgomery County native Josh Harris for just over $6 billion, it certainly seems that way.

Sportico first reported the nonexclusive deal and multiple news outlets confirmed the news with anonymous sources yesterday afternoon. Representatives for the Commanders, the NFL, and Harris have not commented on the agreement. If Snyder signs off on the deal, it will go to the NFL for review by its finance committee. The 31 team owners also must approve of the deal. That could happen next month—league meetings are scheduled to take place May 22–24 in Minneapolis.

The deal isn’t finalized, but this significant announcement hasn’t stopped people from celebrating the potential end to Snyder’s dismal tenure—on and off the field. Online sports apparel shop BreakingT immediately released T-shirts with logos that say “Sold the Team,” a sequel to the shirts that said “Sell the Team,” and “DC Is a Football Town Again.” Dupont bar Madhatter ran its $1 beer deal all night (it usually begins at 8 p.m.) to mark the occasion. And Succession memes suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

While it’s important to remember that this deal could still fall through—nonexclusive agreements leave room for another group to come in—the palpable excitement is refreshing. Perhaps it’s because Harris and two other members of his group, Mitchell Rales and Magic Johnson, have tangible ties to the area. Tilman Fertitta and Steve Apostolopoulos, two other billionaires who’ve submitted bids for the team, have roots in Houston and Toronto, respectively.

Rales, a Potomac billionaire who co-founded the Danaher Corporation, a manufacturing conglomerate, invested a lot of his money in contemporary art, which he displays at Glenstone, the private museum in Montgomery County that draws hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians. Johnson, who is more commonly associated with Los Angeles, made significant investments in Prince George’s County after retiring from the NBA, working to redevelop the former Capital Centre in Largo after the Wizards and the Caps departed for D.C. Urban Coffee Opportunities, his late-’90s partnership with Starbucks, brought the coffee chain to neighborhoods such as Hyattsville and U Street NW. 

Even if this deal does close, there are a number of issues that still need to be worked out, starting with where the team will play home games. (Rales’ art might bring people to Potomac, but can new ownership alone convince fans to trek all the way to Landover?) And Snyder remains the subject of investigations and lawsuits that accuse him of financial mismanagement and sexual harassment. It’s unclear what the sale will mean for those inquiries and any potential consequences for Snyder.

—Caroline Jones (tips? cjones@washingtoncitypaper.com)

• Two-thirds of the D.C. area employees who are able to work from home would prefer to do so most of the time, a Washington Post poll finds. [Post]
• A new, two-year construction project on the GW Parkway is starting tomorrow, April 15. Three and a half miles of the southbound lanes between Capital Beltway and Route 123 will be closed, potentially slowing rush hour commutes. [WTOP]
• A man armed with a baton carjacked a woman in Northeast Thursday but was stabbed by another person who attempted to intervene. The suspect only made it a few blocks in the stolen car before he crashed into two other vehicles, got out of the car, and collapsed. He was pronounced dead at the scene. [NBC Washington]
• Dalaneo Martin’s loved ones gathered Thursday to lay him to rest and demand justice. The 17-year-old was shot in the back and killed by a U.S. Park Police officer, who has not been publicly identified. Martin was asleep in a stolen vehicle when officers approached him. “I remember when we was babies, and that little boy pushed me and you beat him. You always protected me,” his younger sister said during the service. [DCist]
• Metro’s board approved a rate hike of about 5 percent for an average rail trip—the first increase in five years. Officials say the price increase is needed to fund repairs and to support a program that cuts costs for low-income riders. [Post, Twitter]

By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)