Commanders Owner Dan Snyder Hires Bank in First Step Towards Team Sale

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has hired Bank of America Securities to consider the possible sale of the NFL franchise, the organization announced Wednesday.

Snyder and his family control all shares of the team after minority partners were bought out in March 2021. 

The most recent transaction of an NFL team happened in August, when a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton purchased the Denver Broncos for a record $4.6 billion.

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Team co-owner Dan Snyder speaks during the announcement of the Washington Football Team’s name change to the Washington Commanders at FedExField on Feb. 2, 2022 in Landover, Maryland.  
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The Washington Commanders released a statement saying, “The Snyders remain committed to the team, all of its employees and its countless fans to putting the best product on the field and continuing the work to set the gold standard for workplaces in the NFL.”

According to a report from Forbes, several interested parties have been in contact with Snyder.

In the past, Snyder has been bullish on his stance of not wanting to sell the team and not wanting to change the team’s name. 

In February, the franchise unveiled its new name, 18 months after retiring their previous one over mounting pressure that the name and logo, which were established in the 1930s.

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Washington Commanders owners Tanya Snyder, left, and Dan Snyder on the field before the Dallas Cowboys defeat of the Washington Commanders 25-10 at AT&T Stadium on Oct. 2, 2022 in Arlington, Texas.
(John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Snyder has been under fire in recent years and has faced pressure to sell the team.

The NFL fined the organization $10 million, and co-CEO Tanya Snyder was told to focus more on team matters. Meanwhile, Dan Snyder was told to focus on other issues after last year’s outcome of an investigation into the team. 

Congress began investigating the team in October 2021 when allegations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct arose after then-Raiders head coach Jon Gruden stepped down following the leak of emails with then-Commanders team President Bruce Allen. 

Allen was fired in December 2019 after 10 years with the franchise, of which he served in various executive roles.

The lawmakers’ investigation found that Snyder played a significant role in fostering a toxic work environment and pointed to evidence that suggested Snyder impeded the NFL’s independent probe into those allegations. Snyder refused to testify at a hearing before the House lawmakers in June as part of the investigation. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did offer his testimony before the committee.

Washington Commanders owners Dan Snyder on the field before the Dallas Cowboys defeat of the Washington Commanders  25-10 at AT&T Stadium on Oct. 2, 2022 in Arlington, Texas.
(John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

During the league’s fall meeting in New York City, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay publicly called for the NFL to seriously consider Snyder’s removal.

COLTS OWNER JIM IRSAY SEES ‘MERIT’ TO REMOVE DAN SNYDER AS COMMANDERS OWNER

“I believe there is merit to removing him as owner of the [Commanders],” Irsay said in October from the hotel lobby of a New York hotel. “There’s consideration that he should be removed.”

NFL policy stipulates 24 of the league’s 32 owners must vote in favor of a removal in order for Snyder to be ousted. An NFL owner has never been voted out.

Irsay’s statement came on the heels of an ESPN report which revealed that Snyder told an associate that he has enough information to “blow up” several other NFL owners. 

The controversial owner went on to add that the league and commissioner Roger Goodell “can’t f— with me.”

Snyder’s lawyers, John Brownlee and Stuart Nash, partners at Holland & Knight, and a Commanders spokesperson all denied the assertions in the report.

“This is categorically false,” Brownlee and Nash said of the dossier claims to ESPN. “He has no ‘dossiers’ compiled on any owners.”. 

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It is unclear if Snyder intends to possibly sale a minority stake in the team or seeks to sale the franchise in totality.