It was not clear how much stake in the team Johnson, 63, owns, if the Harris group is successful. Johnson was previously involved in Harris’ failed effort last year to purchase the Denver Broncos from the Pat Bowlen Trust. A group led by Wal-Mart’s Rob Walton bought the Broncos for $4.65 billion, a record price for an NFL franchise. This deal was approved by the NFL team’s owners in August.

The Leaders’ sale is teetering amid uncertainty and renewed anger from NFL owners

It was also reported last year that Johnson was exploring the possibility of buying an interest in the Las Vegas Raiders. He has ownership stakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers of MLB, Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, and Los Angeles FC of MLS.

The Harris Group declined to comment through a spokesperson. Johnson’s involvement It was first reported by Sportico. Johnson declined to comment through a representative for Magic Johnson Enterprises.

Harris is the owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. His group has added former Potomac, Maryland, billionaire investor Mitchell Rales as an investor.

People familiar with the situation said Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta is another person identified as being involved in the bidding.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has hired New York investment firm Allen & Company to evaluate a potential bid for leaders, according to two people familiar with the situation. Bezos owns the Washington Post.

The partnership between Harris and Raleigh gives Daniel Snyder a solid option over Bezos

Leaders announced in November that Snyder and his wife, Tanya, the team’s co-CEO, had hired Bank of America Securities to look into potential franchise transactions. The team has not said whether the Snyders intend to sell all or part of the franchise. Four people familiar with the process said in December that they believed selling the entire franchise was the most likely outcome.

A person familiar with the process said in recent days that there is a growing conviction that Snyder will sell the team in the coming weeks or months, while he expressed doubts that the sale could be completed before the league meeting. Any sale must be approved by 24 of the 32 NFL team owners. The league meeting is scheduled to run at least through next Tuesday.

Sale deliberations take place as the NFL conducts its second investigation into Snyder and the team. This one is supervised by attorney Mary Jo White.