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PFT: Allegations If Proven True Would Be 'Death Knell' for Commanders' Daniel Snyder
April 3, 2022
Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder is reportedly on thin ice when it comes to his position in the NFL.
After A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reported Congress is investigating whether Snyder withheld ticket revenue that was intended to be shared with teams around the league, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk cited "a league source with knowledge of the dynamics among owners" who suggested the allegations would be a "death knell" for the Washington owner if they are true.
If that is the case, Florio also reported the league will attempt to "force Snyder to make his payments, whether through the court system or an internal arbitration."
As Perez and Florio explained, 40 percent of ticket revenue generated for home games goes into a league-wide pool to be split among the other teams. That means ticket revenue has a direct impact on the financial picture for Snyder's partners in ownership as well as the players since it is part of the equation to determine the salary cap.
This is just the latest chapter in the story of investigations when it comes to the Commanders and Snyder.
Liz Clarke, Paul Kane and Mark Maske of the Washington Post recently reported a congressional committee expanded its investigation of the franchise's workplace culture and allegations of sexual harassment into "allegations of financial improprieties" under Snyder.
Snyder was already being investigated after Tiffani Johnston, who is a former cheerleader and team marketing manager, said the Commanders owner sexually harassed her.
Snyder released a statement saying the allegations were "outright lies":
The Washington Post report also noted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the league would use an independent investigator to look into the allegations and "publicly rebuked Snyder" for suggesting the team would run such an investigation.
The NFL has already looked into Washington's workplace culture, although it never publicly released all the findings of attorney Beth Wilkinson's investigation. Washington was fined $10 million as a result, and Tanya Snyder, who is Snyder's wife, assumed co-CEO responsibilities while her husband stepped away from the day-to-day issues.
"The financial allegations arrive amid indications that the NFL is growing weary of defending Snyder," Clarke, Kane and Maske wrote.
Snyder was the leader of an investment group that purchased Washington and its stadium in 1999.