After Two-Plus Decades, Dan Snyder Might Sell the Washington Commanders
After over 20 years of NFL ownership, Dan Snyder might finally sell the Washington Commanders. Is the decision forced or by choice?
Nov. 3 2022, Published 8:49 a.m. ET
After over 20 years of NFL team ownership, Dan Snyder might sell the Washington Commanders team, which he has owned since 1999. The former Washington Redskins have made six playoff appearances since Snyder took the reins. After over two decades as the owner of the Commanders, why is Dan Snyder selling the team?
A number of issues over the years have prompted people to urge Snyder’s forced removal as the team owner. What are the often-repeated claims of misconduct about the owner and the team culture he has created?
Snyder might sell the team after more than two years of upheaval and accusations.
Although Snyder is reportedly not being forced to sell, the past several years have been fraught with accusations against the team owner. Fans and other owners including Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay have called for his removal.
The Washington Post reported that over a dozen women leveled accusations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse against team employees. Another 2020 report by the Post brought further accusations of inappropriate workplace conduct.
In July 2021, the NFL fined Snyder $10 million and put his wife Tanya Snyder in charge. However, the NFL didn’t publish a full report on the investigation’s results, so the House Committee on Oversight and Reform opened its own investigation into the Commanders' culture.
A female former employee accused Snyder of sexual assault, which the Post reported he settled with a $1.6 million payout in 2009.
In addition to sexual harassment and assault allegations, Snyder and the Commanders are also under investigation for financial misconduct. Federal prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia are conducting a criminal probe into the team’s financial dealings, ESPN reported.
How much is Dan Snyder’s net worth?
Snyder with Dallas Cowboys owner and a post noting, "Friends and rivals for 24 years."
Snyder, like most professional sports team owners, is believed to have a net worth in the billions. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he’s worth around $4 billion today.
The 57-year-old began flexing his entrepreneurial talents when at age 20, he was running his own business leasing jets to college students for beach trips. He also started a magazine, Campus USA.
Snyder started the wallboard advertising company Snyder Communications in 1988. The company eventually went public on the NYSE, and by 2000, he sold it for $2 billion.
How much are the Commanders worth?
A recent team valuations list by Forbes stated that the Commanders are worth $5.6 billion. That figure gave the Commanders the number-six slot in NFL team valuations in 2022. Some of the other most valuable NFL teams are the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams.
CNBC reported that a deal to sell the Commanders might even fetch as much as $7 billion. Any sale of the team will require the approval of at least 24 of the 32 NFL teams as well as the approval of the NFL finance committee.
Snyder and his wife have engaged Bank of America Securities to explore “potential transactions involving the team,” ESPN reported. However, it was still unclear whether that would mean a sale or taking on minority partners.