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WASHINGTON
John Keim of ESPN.com takes a long look at the reign of Dan Snyder which may not reach the 25-year mark. Will he be allowed to use the name of the team for most that time?
In 1999, the Washington franchise Dan Snyder purchased was one of the NFL’s marquee teams.
It was barely a decade removed from two Super Bowl victories (plus another one in 1983) and had recently moved into an 80,000-seat stadium, fulfilling demand for tickets by a rabid fan base. At one point, the team said, the waiting list was 200,000 strong.
But in the ensuing 24 years under Snyder’s stewardship, the franchise’s status and reputation have sunk to the point that he and his wife put the team up for sale in November. He’ll leave a legacy of on-field futility and off-field scandal.
Allegations involving Washington’s workplace culture — charges of sexual harassment and financial improprieties — have resulted in investigations by Congress, the NFL and multiple state attorneys general.
On the field, Washington has had as many name changes as playoff wins — two — while compiling a 164-220-2 record.
Local revenue has dipped and the fan base continues to dwindle. The season-ticket wait list dropped to zero, and the seating capacity went from a high of more than 90,000 to just over 62,000 last season after removing seats, covering others and converting some suites into office space.
It is against that backdrop that NFL owners, general managers, coaches and team executives are meeting in Arizona to discuss the league’s future, which at some point will include a new owner of the Commanders.
There are three known bidders — groups led by Magic Johnson and Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos — in addition to speculation that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos could join the mix. But whoever becomes the new owner, they will be immediately tasked with restoring a reputation and tradition to a franchise that has been faltering for more than two decades.
Here’s a look at how it all happened.
A long list of events in team history follow which we will edit out up until 2019:
2019
April 25, 2019: At the urging of Snyder, and against the wishes of Kyle Smith, his director of college scouting, according to multiple people in the draft room, Washington selects Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the 15th pick in the draft. Haskins starred at Bullis High in suburban Washington, D.C. — the same school Snyder’s son attended.
Oct. 7, 2019: Snyder fires Gruden after an 0-5 start. His tenure under Snyder is longer than any other coach, lasting five-plus years with a 35-49-1 record. Bill Callahan replaces him as interim coach. Washington finishes 3-13.
Dec. 30, 2019: Snyder fires Allen, ending his 10-year run during which Washington went 62-97-1.
2020
Jan. 1, 2020: Snyder hires Ron Rivera and gives him more power than any coach who has worked under him, including allowing him to select his front office. Snyder had been talking to Rivera since shortly after Carolina fired him a month earlier. Rivera says he talked to Gibbs, among others, before accepting the job.
April 25, 2020: Washington trades Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams to San Francisco for a 2020 fifth-round and 2021 third-round pick. Williams had been upset with the organization for its lack of reaction to a cancer scare he’d had. He was willing to return, but wanted a contract extension. Washington declined and Williams asked to be traded.
July 13, 2020: Under pressure from sponsors, Washington announces it will drop the Redskins name it had used for 87 seasons. There had long been controversy surrounding the name, considered an offensive term for Native Americans.
July 16, 2020: The Washington Post releases a report detailing the franchise’s toxic culture. Fifteen women allege they were sexually harassed and verbally abused by former team employees. Two scouts named in the piece are fired shortly before the story runs. A third employee named in the article, play-by-play broadcaster Larry Michael, announces his retirement prior to publication. Snyder is not accused of harassment. However, he is cited for setting up a toxic culture. On the same day, Washington hires attorney Beth Wilkinson to review the team’s “culture, policies and allegations of workplace misconduct.”
July 23, 2020: Washington announces it will temporarily be known as the Football Team until a new name is chosen. The team will keep the burgundy and gold color scheme.
Aug. 7, 2020: Snyder sues online media company Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide, accusing the site of publishing “malicious criminal allegations.” The lawsuit charges that MEAW published defamatory stories about him, accusing him of sex trafficking and linking him to Jeffrey Epstein. The stories were based on social media rumors that began before the Post published its first story about the team in July. The $10 million suit also contends unidentified sources paid the site to publish the stories.
Aug. 16, 2020: Smith returns to practice after recovery from his gruesome leg injury nearly two years earlier and is activated off the physically unable to perform list. Smith starts in six games, posting a 5-1 record.
Aug. 17, 2020: Snyder hires Jason Wright to be Washington’s team president, making him the first Black person to hold this role in the NFL. The move comes less than a month after Washington hired Julie Donaldson as its senior vice president of media. She went on to become the first woman to be part of an NFL radio booth.
Aug. 20, 2020: Rivera announces he has squamous cell carcinoma and will need to undergo seven weeks of treatment during the season. He won’t miss any games but will sit out three practices while being treated.
Aug. 26, 2020: Another report is released by The Washington Post and builds on the allegations from its first story about Washington’s toxic culture. This report includes 25 more women alleging sexual harassment. The Post reported former play-by-play broadcaster Larry Michael requested his staff to produce a lewd video for Snyder from a 2008 cheerleader calendar photo shoot. A former team employee says one was made in 2010 as well. Snyder and Michael deny the charges.
Aug. 31, 2020: Snyder announces via statement the NFL has taken over the investigation into his franchise, which was previously run by Wilkinson. Wilkinson and her team will conduct the investigation, but from that point they will report to commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL. Snyder says he and his wife, Tanya, told Goodell the league should take it over. “The entire Washington Football Team remains committed to fully cooperating with all aspects of the investigation,” Snyder says.
Nov. 13, 2020: Washington’s three minority owners — Fred Smith, Dwight Schar and Robert Rothman — sue Snyder in federal court, saying he interfered with a pending sale of their shares to investors willing to pay $900 million for their 40%. They contend Snyder improperly used his right of first refusal by offering to buy the shares of Smith and Rothman, but not Schar. Snyder had accused Schar of leading an effort to extort him. The NFL later bans Schar from being part of an ownership group again.
Dec. 22, 2020: The Washington Post reports Snyder paid a former team employee $1.6 million in 2009 as part of a settlement after she accused him of sexual misconduct while flying on his plane. Snyder denies the allegations.
Dec. 28, 2020: Washington releases Haskins, a day after a loss to Carolina and after what team sources said were repeated missteps by the second-year quarterback. The release occurs one week after a maskless Haskins was photographed at his girlfriend’s birthday party with strippers, hours after a loss to the Seahawks. Washington fined him $40,000 for his second breach of COVID-19 protocols and took away his captaincy. In a tweet following his release, Haskins wrote: “I take full responsibility for not meeting the standards of a NFL QB & will become a better man & player because of this experience.”
2021
Jan. 3, 2021: Washington beats the Eagles 20-14 in the regular-season finale to win the NFC East with a 7-9 record. Washington wins five of its last seven games — with multiple players saying they were inspired in part by Smith’s return and Rivera’s cancer battle — to win the division. Washington loses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
March 5, 2021: Washington releases Alex Smith — an expected move that clears $15 million in salary cap space. Two weeks later, Washington signs free agent quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
March 31, 2021: NFL owners unanimously approve Snyder buying out his minority partners for the remaining 40.5% control of the franchise. The NFL approves a $450 million debt waiver in addition to the $875 million sale. Snyder must pay off the debt by 2028. Four months earlier, Snyder rejected an offer of $900 million by a group of investors wanting to buy out the minority partners.
June 29, 2021: Tanya Snyder is named co-CEO of the franchise along with her husband. “This team is our family’s legacy,” Tanya says in a statement. “We are at a pivotal point in the history of this team as we work to become the gold standard of NFL franchises.”
July 1, 2021: After Wilkinson’s investigation concludes, the NFL fines Washington $10 million for a toxic workplace culture under Dan Snyder, but does not release a written report. The league also announces Snyder will hand the day-to-day duties over to Tanya Snyder while he focuses on trying to get a new stadium built. The league does not call it a suspension. Dan Snyder says in a statement, “It is now clear that the culture was not what it should be, but I did not realize the extent of the problems, or my role in allowing that culture to develop and continue. I know that as the owner, I am ultimately responsible for the workplace.”
Oct 1, 2021: Two days before Washington plays at Atlanta, the Drug Enforcement Agency raids the office and home of Commanders head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion. Vermillion is placed on administrative leave pending an investigation centered on the distribution of prescription drugs. Assistant trainer Doug Quon is also placed on leave.
Oct. 8, 2021: The Wall Street Journal releases leaked emails that highlight exchanges between Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who was working for ESPN at the time the emails were written, and Allen. Gruden’s emails were uncovered as part of Wilkinson’s investigation. A year later, former House Oversight Committee chairman Tom Davis writes in a letter to the current chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney that Snyder was using the emails to show Allen’s relationship with members of the media and to blame him for the toxic culture. In the emails, Gruden uses language considered anti-gay and misogynistic. In addition, he used a racist trope to describe NFL Players Association president DeMaurice Smith, who is Black. After another email leak three days later, Gruden resigns as coach of the Raiders.
Oct. 21, 2021: The chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), announces an investigation into the Washington franchise as well as the NFL’s handling of its investigation into the team. Both Maloney and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, sign a letter sent to Goodell.
2022
Jan. 2, 2022: A railing above the visiting tunnel at FedEx Field collapses as Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts exits the field. Multiple fans fall to the ground, one of whom is helped by Hurts. A day later, four fans refute a statement by the team suggesting they were offered on-site medical evaluations. Eight months later, they file a lawsuit against the organization seeking $75,000 apiece in damages.
Jan. 9, 2022: The franchise plays its last game as the Washington Football Team, beating the Giants 22-7 to finish 7-10. On Dec. 5, they were 6-6 but a combination of COVID-19 absences and injuries leads to the poor finish.
Feb. 2, 2022: Washington announces its new name — the Commanders — after two years of being called the Washington Football Team. The franchise unveils the uniforms and logo. “What this effort really is at its core is not landing on a name that was going to be unanimously loved by everybody but to start a process by which we can continue to preserve what’s best about the burgundy and gold,” team president Jason Wright says. Snyder adds: “Today’s a big day for our team, our fans, a day in which we embark on a new chapter. It’s been a long journey to get to this point.”
Feb. 3, 2022: In a roundtable session in front of members of the House Committee for Oversight and Reform, former Washington cheerleader and marketing manager Tiffani Johnston alleges Snyder placed his hand on her leg while at a dinner function and later unsuccessfully tried to force her into his limousine.
Feb. 18, 2022: The NFL hires Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to investigate Johnston’s claims against Snyder. A week earlier, the team announces it will conduct an investigation, but the NFL later says it will run the probe.
March 9, 2022: After failing to land Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in a trade — and having inquired on numerous quarterbacks, according to Rivera — Washington trades two third-round picks to the Colts for Carson Wentz. The teams also swap second-round picks. The Commanders pick up Wentz’s $28 million contract for 2022. According to multiple team sources, Snyder pushed for the front office to finalize the move.
March 18, 2022: Anheuser-Busch ends its sponsorship with the franchise, worth $4 million per year. Anheuser-Busch sponsors 26 teams as well as the entire league. It’s the third sponsor in the past year to cut ties with Washington. Washington’s attendance in 2021 ranked next-to-last in per-game average and is last in percentage of filled capacity.
March 29, 2022: Goodell says at the owners’ meetings that Snyder “has not been involved in day-to-day operations.” Goodell says Tanya Snyder has been representing the team as CEO, on a daily basis and at league meetings.
April 4, 2022: The Commanders release a statement strongly denying former Washington employee Jason Friedman’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee alleging financial improprieties — including Washington withholding ticket revenue that was supposed to be shared with other teams.
April 12, 2022: The House Oversight Committee sends a 20-page letter to the Federal Trade Commission regarding a “potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct” by the franchise.
April 18, 2022: The Commanders send a 25-page letter to the FTC, strongly denying Friedman’s charges, saying he did not have access to the financial information he was alleging. They also release emails and other correspondence to back up their rebuttal.
April 25, 2022: The Virginia attorney general’s office informs the Commanders via email it will investigate the allegations of financial impropriety. The D.C. attorney general’s office also is investigating the franchise. Maryland’s attorney general’s office declines to comment on questions asking whether they’re doing the same.
June 1, 2022: The House Oversight Committee asks Snyder and Goodell to testify at a hearing on June 22. In a statement, Maloney says, “We must have transparency and accountability, which is why we are calling on Mr. Goodell and Mr. Snyder to answer the questions they have dodged for the last seven months.”
June 15, 2022: Snyder informs Congress he will not appear at the hearing, citing a long-standing commitment to attend an awards ceremony in France. Meanwhile, Goodell says he will testify. Two days later, Maloney urges Snyder to reconsider and offers him a chance to do so remotely. Three days after Maloney’s encouragement, Snyder again declines. His attorney says they want the committee to share documents it intends to use during questioning.
June 22, 2022: The House oversight committee releases a 29-page report, detailing new allegations against Snyder. The report concludes Snyder conducted a “shadow investigation” to try to discredit media and others who they thought played a role in making accusations against him and the organization. Among the report’s findings: Snyder sent private investigators to the homes of those who accused him to offer them “hush money,” and Bruce Allen created the toxic workplace.
June 22, 2022: Several hours after that report is released, Goodell testifies before the House oversight committee for 2½ hours, reiterating they won’t release the Wilkinson report to protect the anonymity of those who participated. Later, Maloney says they will issue a subpoena to get Snyder to testify.
July 7, 2022: Ten days after refusing the House oversight committee’s subpoena, Snyder offers to testify remotely. The committee accepts his offer to testify on July 28.
July 28, 2022: Snyder testifies voluntarily for approximately 10½ hours via video conference from Israel, where he’s commemorating the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death. The committee warns beforehand if he did not fully answer questions, they will issue a subpoena upon his return to the United States. A spokesperson for Snyder said he answered all of their questions about workplace misconduct.
Oct. 13, 2022: An ESPN report reveals Snyder told people in his inner circle Goodell and other owners can’t “f— with me” because of information he has on all of them. The report says Snyder has accumulated information on six other owners, including the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, with whom he had been close, as well as Goodell. The report says many owners and top league executives would like to see Snyder removed. But to do that, 24 of the other 31 owners would have to vote in favor of ousting him. However, no vote is taken at the league meetings the following week.
Oct. 18, 2022: Colts owner Jim Irsay tells reporters at the owners’ meetings: “I believe there’s merit to remove [Snyder] as owner. Unfortunately, I believe that’s the road we probably need to go down and we just need to finish the investigation, but it’s gravely concerning to me the things that have occurred there over the last 20 years.” Washington releases a statement from the Snyders saying they will not sell. Snyder then sends a letter to the other owners calling the ESPN report false and denying he hired a private investigator “to look into any owner or the Commissioner.”
Nov. 2, 2022: The Snyders announce they’ve hired Bank of America Securities to consider “potential transactions” for selling the team. Their statement did not specify whether they will sell all of the team or just a portion. A spokesperson says the Snyders are “exploring all options.” Forbes values the team at $5.6 billion.
Nov. 10, 2022: D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine says the city has filed a civil lawsuit under the consumer protection act against Snyder and the Commanders. Racine says it is for “colluding to deceive residents of the District of Columbia about their investigation into a toxic workplace culture that impacted employees, especially women.” A week later, Racine files a second lawsuit accusing the team of cheating season-ticket holders in the District out of $200,000 in deposit money.
Dec. 8, 2022: The House Oversight Committee releases a 79-page report on its investigation, stating Snyder “permitted and participated in” creating a toxic workplace culture. They called Snyder’s testimony evasive and at times misleading. It says Snyder told them more than 100 times he couldn’t recall answers to basic questions about the team, his role and allegations of misconduct. The report also states the team and league failed to “produce more than 40,000 responsive documents, including the findings of the Wilkinson investigation …” Also in the report, Allen alleges Snyder leaked the Gruden emails.
2023
Jan. 8, 2023: Washington beats Dallas to finish 8-8-1 and out of the playoffs, but team sources said Snyder doesn’t attend, missing his third consecutive game — one in which they were retiring the jersey of former quarterback, broadcaster and a Snyder favorite, Sonny Jurgensen. If this was the last game of the Snyder era, the franchise finished with a 164-220-2 record, 14 losing seasons in 24 years and two playoff wins. From 1969 to 1998, Washington posted a record of 257-181-2 with seven losing seasons and three Super Bowl victories in five appearances.
Feb. 8, 2023: At Super Bowl LVII, Goodell says there remains no timeline for the Mary Jo White investigation into former cheerleader Tiffani Johnston’s claims against Snyder. He updates the sale without saying much: “As far as the process, the Commanders are under a process that is their process; ultimately, if [the Snyders] reach a conclusion and have someone join the ownership group or buy the team entirely, that’s something the ownership will look at.”
Feb. 17, 2023: Washington hires Eric Bieniemy as an assistant head coach/offensive coordinator, in what could be Snyder’s last big coaching move.
Feb. 28, 2023: ESPN reports a $55 million loan made to the team — “without the knowledge and required approval of Snyder’s minority partners” — has become a focal point of federal prosecutors in Virginia who are investigating allegations of financial misconduct by Snyder and the franchise. The loan was included as a footnote in an April 2020 financial report and had been taken out 16 months earlier.
In other words, NFL owners aren’t quite sure when the Commanders sale will be finalized.
What they do know is, as expected entering the week, nothing will be resolved by the time the annual league meeting concludes here late Tuesday afternoon.
“The information is very little to none in terms of the 31 of us [owners], and probably even the league office right now,” Irsay said of a Commanders sale process that opened in November and has seen in recent weeks intense speculation about when a deal could be announced. “We’ve heard what you guys have heard.
“I would think May would reveal some [answers] but certainly by October we’d expect to have some movement on these issues.”
Irsay also said the owners aren’t considering a vote to remove Dan Snyder, opting to let the sale process unfold. At the league meetings in October, Irsay caused a stir by saying it was perhaps time to consider such an action against the Commanders owner.
“You hope it doesn’t come down to that,” Irsay said, “and you don’t speculate in terms of getting there because the best thing is having the process unfold where there’s a sale.
“You think of them hopefully going right and a sale taking place, which will be greatly beneficial for everyone.”
Snyder has not attended the league meetings for more than a year. But his wife and co-owner Tanya did represent the franchise.
Thus far, three known bidders have emerged: Josh Harris, Steve Apostolopoulos and Tilman Fertitta. Multiple sources have said there was a unknown fourth bidder, who toured the facility — as did Harris and Apostolopoulos. Fertitta had been scheduled to tour their stadium, but he had to cancel and has not yet rescheduled.
“I believe that something is close to happening,” said Kraft, who then added: “I don’t know that for sure. We’ll wait and see what happens.”
But, Irsay said, for a vote to be taken in May they’d need to give the league enough time to do the necessary background work after an agreement is announced. He said that process could take up to a month, though it helps that someone like Harris was among the finalists to buy the Denver Broncos last summer.
“These things take a little time,” Irsay said, “but a lot more could be known by May and you hope in a couple months that there’s some real progress and you know a lot more. Right now it’s hard to know exactly how close we could be in May with being presented with a buyer and a sale.”
The Washington Post reported last month that Snyder would ask the owners for indemnification against future legal liabilities, a claim a Snyder spokesman called untrue Monday. Snyder remains under investigation by the NFL and attorney Mary Jo White. There are also multiple ongoing investigations into his finances, including by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Irsay said the other owners would not offer indemnity even if Snyder had asked.
“We’re going to do what we’ve always done with deals like with Denver or Carolina,” Irsay said. “It’s going to be fair and equal treatment. There’s a normal course that has to happen during a sale and we’re going to stay along those lines. There’s no reason for us to be giving any sort of unusual indemnification that the [others] didn’t have. At this point it hasn’t gotten to that because first you have to be presented with a buyer.”
As Irsay spoke, one of Snyder’s attorneys, Norm Chirite, stood behind the assembled media and videotaped some of his comments.
“It’s certainly understandable why we would want to know what an owner who has previously left confidential League meetings and made disparaging comments about other owners had to say,” a team spokesman said.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones told reporters that the Commanders are a national treasure.
“It’s a team in the nation’s capital, it’s highly visible and creates a unique perspective for fans,” Jones said.
Irsay agreed.
“This just isn’t any franchise,” he said. “This is right there in Washington, D.C. in the power lane of the world — not just the country, the world.”
He then recalled the days when Jack Kent Cooke owned the franchise and Joe Gibbs was the coach and it played at RFK Stadium.
“What a great tradition,” he said. “We hope for success going forward. This is a very unique opportunity in terms of ownership. All teams are very, very valuable but there are a few like this for the reasons that are obvious that are very key. We’re just looking forward to getting it concluded.” |
