Commanders Deny Allegations of Team Withholding Ticket Revenue Required to Be Shared

The Washington Commanders denied they withheld any ticket revenue that was required to be shared with other teams in the league.

"There has been absolutely no withholding of ticket revenue at any time by the Commanders," the team said in a statement Monday. "Those revenues are subject to independent audits by multiple parties. Anyone who offered testimony suggesting a withholding of revenue has committed perjury, plain and simple."

A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports reported Saturday that the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform received information that alleged the team withheld some of the 40 percent of its ticket revenue from each home game that is supposed to go to visiting teams.

Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reported that Jason Friedman, who worked as a ticketing employee for the team for 24 years before he was let go in 2020, provided the testimony to the House Oversight Committee.

Friedman's lawyer, Lisa Banks, released a statement after Washington's comments and said the team "defamed my client."

Investigations are nothing new when it comes to the Commanders and team owner Daniel Snyder. Liz Clarke, Paul Kane and Mark Maske of the Washington Post recently reported the congressional committee expanded its inquiry into the franchise's workplace culture and allegations of sexual harassment into "allegations of financial improprieties."

Yet GOP Oversight Committee spokesperson Austin Hacker released a statement suggesting there isn't any merit to the allegations of ticket revenue being withheld.

"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," he said in a statement, per Perez. "Nothing the Committee has heard from any credible witness points to any financial improprieties; in fact, the only credible witness in a position to know the facts the Democrats have heard from has denied any such improprieties."

Snyder could face serious consequences if the allegations are proven true.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk cited "a league source with knowledge of the dynamics among owners" who said such actions would be a "death knell" for Snyder. Florio also reported that the league would attempt to make him pay the revenue if the allegations are true and would be willing to use the court system if necessary.

The shared ticket revenue impacts both Snyder's partners in ownership and the players since it is one of the factors used when determining the salary-cap total.

This is just the latest chapter in investigations when it comes to the Washington franchise. While the NFL didn't publicly release the findings from attorney Beth Wilkinson's investigation into the organization's workplace culture, it fined the team $10 million. Snyder also stepped away from some of the day-to-day duties with the team as his wife, Tanya, assumed co-CEO responsibilities.

What's more, Tiffani Johnston, who is a former cheerleader and team marketing manager, said Snyder sexually harassed her.

The team owner released a statement and said Johnston's allegations were "outright lies."