Dan Snyder is either selling the Washington Commanders or, trying to solidify control of the NFL club.
On Wednesday morning, the team announced that Snyder had retained Bank of America to explore “potential transactions” involving the Commanders. The bombshell announcement leaves plenty unsaid, including the multibillion-dollar question: Is Snyder feeling the public pressure, and ready to launch the most expensive franchise sale in sports history? Or is football’s most controversial owner looking to ease his mounting debt by adding a few minority partners to tighten his grip on the NFL club?
“I can’t imagine doing this if the likely outcome wasn’t that he was going to sell the team,” former Philadelphia Eagles president Joe Banner said in a phone interview. “I’ve been around the league for a long time… Does it go for $4 billion or $5 billion? We don’t know that, but we do know that there’s a line of super rich people that would give almost anything to own an NFL team and the Commanders are amongst the more desirable, even with all the damage that’s been done since when he bought it.”
Here are the potential motivations, and ramifications, for both options.
The Case for a Minority Sale
Throughout all of Snyder’s public controversies—allegations of sexual harassment and rampant workplace misconduct within the front office, a Congressional investigation into financial impropriety, the fight over the team’s prior name—he has been steadfast in his refusal to cede control of the franchise. Last month a team representative told the New York Times that Snyder had no intention of selling the team. ESPN recently reported that Snyder has told associates that he will “never accept” being forced out by his fellow owners.
Snyder does, however, have growing debt associated with the Commanders. Last year he bought out a trio of minority owners who held the 40.5% of the club that his family didn’t already own. The transactions brought 100% of the club into the Snyder family, but also necessitated loans to finance them. The deals cost $875 million, and NFL owners unanimously voted to ratify a $450 million debt waiver to help make it possible.
So Snyder took full control of the team, but at large personal cost. Selling new minority shares would be one way of alleviating that financial strain. (Bank of America also holds a significant portion of his debt, according to someone familiar with the situation.)
It would also allow him to structure partnership agreements that give him more control than the agreements with his prior partners. That trio of former LPs—Fred Smith, Dwight Schar and Robert Rothman—had a contentious relationship with Snyder, with both sides accusing the other of bad-faith dealings and spreading misinformation. Snyder could theoretically sell new LP stakes that have more limited rights than that trio held. Those rights could involve anything from board seats and voting rights, to non-disparagement clauses and restricted access to financial statements.
Sportico values the Commanders at $4.78 billion, making them the eighth-most valuable club in the NFL. Minority stakes, especially those with limited rights, would likely trade at a lower valuation.
Should Snyder add minority partners, it will do little to quell the growing pressure on him to sell. That could be further exacerbated when the league releases the results of an ongoing investigation into the team’s workplace misconduct allegations. That probe, led by former SEC chair Mary Jo White, is expected to be finished in the coming weeks or months.
The Case for a Controlling Sale
Despite Snyder’s prior declarations about keeping the team, public pressure has been mounting for him to step aside. And for the first time, that pressure is coming from within the league. Two weeks ago, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay called for league members to consider his removal—marking the first time another owner has publicly suggested removing Snyder. The NFL has never formally removed a majority owner in the league’s 103-year history.
But history has shown that internal sexual harassment allegations are difficult to overcome in a league that maintains that it cares deeply about the issues. Former Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson put the team on the market in 2017 shortly after it was revealed that he was involved in a number of settlements that stemmed from workplace misconduct. While Richardson and Snyder have utterly different situations, a change in ownership is not unprecedented.
Backlash against Snyder has grown steadily for decades, but it hit new levels when former employees spoke out about sexual harassment and workplace misconduct in 2020. The result was a $10 million fine from the NFL against Snyder, who temporarily transferred day-to-day operational control to his wife and team co-CEO, Tanya Snyder. A congressional committee probe into the team’s workplace misconduct followed, prompting White’s investigation.
At some point, Snyder could decide that owning the club is no longer worth the hassle. That would track with his 2020 decision to rename the franchise, which he’d previously promised would never happen. If he indeed does decide to cash out his controlling stake, the Commanders could fetch the highest price ever paid for a sports team, outdoing the $4.6 billion spent on the Denver Broncos earlier this year.
Snyder may also know something not yet public that would make him more inclined to sell. On Wednesday afternoon ESPN reported that the U.S attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia has opened a criminal investigation into the team’s alleged financial improprieties.
There’s never been a better time to sell an NFL franchise. The average club is worth $4.14 billion, up 18% over the past year. The league recently signed $110 billion in new media deals, and its most recent CBA could ensure labor peace through at least 2030. Ratings are strong, and corporate partnerships are up.
The Commanders would be attractive on the open market for a host of reasons, including proximity to the nation’s power brokers and the potential to strike a deal for a new stadium. The list of buyers reportedly interested in taking over one of the NFL’s oldest franchises includes Amazon executive chairman and billionaire Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post.
(This story has been updated with details of the Eastern District of Virginia’s investigation in the 15th paragraph.)
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