Report: Former Commanders Employee Made Financial Allegations; Offered No Evidence

The allegations of financial improprieties by the Washington Commanders reportedly came from one former employee without evidence, according to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. 

A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reported an allegation that the Commanders withheld ticket revenue that was supposed to be shared with other NFL teams was made to the House Oversight Committee which was already investigating the team.

Per Kaplan, the testimony came from Jason Friedman, who worked with the organization from 1996-2020 and served as vice president of sales and customer service before his termination.

"It's not clear if he held a senior enough position ... to have access to the types of records that would back up the assertions," Kaplan reported.

NFL teams are required to send 40 percent of ticket sales from home games to the league, but Friedman told the U.S. Congressional committee that the Commanders didn't pass along the full amount.

Liz Clarke, Paul Kane and Mark Maske of the Washington Post previously reported that the House Oversight Committee was investigating financial improprieties by the team after the allegations.

If the allegations are true, it could be a "death knell" for Daniel Snyder as owner of the team, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Snyder has already been under investigation by Congress after allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic workplace culture.

The latest financial allegations have not yet been backed up, however, with Republican members of the committee attacking the testimony.

"The leak of one-sided, unconfirmed, unsupported allegations from a disgruntled ex-employee with an ax to grind is just further proof the Democrats’ investigation is a waste of Congress’ time," GOP spokesperson Austin Hacker said.

The Commanders have also denied any wrongdoing, referring to "vague and unsubstantiated claims" in a statement.