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Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder has hired an investment bank to “consider possible transactions” related to the franchise, the team announced Wednesday.
The Commanders did not specify whether Snyder and his wife Tanya Snyder, the team’s co-chief executive officer, are considering selling the entire franchise or a minority stake. The team said in a statement that the Snyders have hired a division of Bank of America.
“Dan and Tanya Snyder and the Washington Commanders announced today that they have engaged BofA Securities to consider potential transactions,” the Commanders said in their statement. “The Snyders remain committed to the team, all of their employees and their countless fans to put the best product on the field and continue to work to set the gold standard for NFL jobs.”
A person familiar with NFL franchise transactions said Daniel Snyder had recently been interested in trying to sell a minority stake in the team, but did not know if that remains his intention. Two others familiar with the inner workings of the NFL said they were unclear about what Snyder intends to do.
“We are exploring all options,” said a spokesman for the commanders.
Snyder and family members own the entire franchise. Snyder led a group of investors that bought the team and its stadium in 1999 for $800 million from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke. Forbes estimated in August that the commanders are worth $5.6 billion.
“Any potential transaction would have to be submitted to the NFL Finance Committee for review and would require an affirmative vote of three-quarters of the full membership (24 of 32 teams),” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement on Wednesday.
This approval is required to sell a minority stake or the entire team. The NFL declined further comment on the potential transaction.
Wednesday’s announcement comes with Snyder and the quarterbacks under investigation by the NFL, the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the DC and Virginia attorneys general.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has said in recent weeks that he and his NFL teammates should seriously consider voting to remove Snyder from Commanders ownership.
“I guess we’re going to discuss it more and more,” Irsay said last month, speaking to reporters at an owners’ meeting in New York. “It is a difficult situation. I think there is merit in retiring him as the owner of the [Commanders]. I think it’s something we need to review. We have to look at all the evidence and we have to be thorough to move forward. But I think it’s something that should be seriously considered.”
That day, a spokesman for the commanders issued the following statement: “It is very inappropriate, but not surprising, that Mr. Irsay chose to make public statements based on falsehoods to the media. It is unfortunate that Mr. Irsay decided to make his statement public today while an investigation is underway, and the team has not had an opportunity to formally respond to the allegations. Commanders have made remarkable progress over the past two years. We are confident that when he has the opportunity to see the actual evidence in this case, Mr. Irsay will conclude that there is no reason for the Snyders to consider selling the franchise. And they won’t.”
Irsay expanded on his comments in a phone interview Friday: “I’m not sure how this report is going to come out. But what’s already come out is extremely disturbing, and I don’t agree with the process. And most likely I’m not ok we haven’t talked about something more serious like taking him out as an owner. like i said it’s not something i’m saying we should do. i’m saying it’s something that needs to be done take seriously.”
It would take a vote of at least three-quarters of the owners to remove Snyder from the property. Several owners told The Post in September that they believe serious consideration could be given to trying to oust Snyder from the league’s ownership ranks, either by convincing him to sell his franchise or voting to remove him.
“He has to sell,” said one such owner at the time. “Some of us have to go to him and tell him to sell.”
It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether any owners had urged Snyder to sell.
“I think there will be movement,” the same owner said in September. “We have to get 24 votes.”
The NFL’s current investigation is being conducted by attorney Mary Jo White.
“Mary Jo White is continuing her review,” McCarthy said Wednesday. “We don’t have an update on a timeline.”
The league began investigating White after Tiffani Johnston, the team’s former cheerleader and marketing director, told a congressional panel in February that Snyder harassed her at a team dinner, putting her hand on her thigh and pressing her towards his limo. Snyder denied the allegations, calling them “blatant lies.”
In June, The Post reported details of an employee’s claim that Snyder sexually assaulted her during a flight on his private jet in April 2009. Later that year, the team agreed to pay $1.6 million dollars to the employee, whom he fired, in a confidential settlement. In a 2020 court filing, Snyder called the woman’s claims “unfair.”
In April, the House committee detailed allegations of financial improprieties by Snyder and the team in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission. Karl A. Racine, the Democratic district attorney, and Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares announced they would investigate. The team has denied any financial wrongdoing.
The Racine office has nearly completed its investigation and plans to take further action in the case, a person familiar with the investigation said last month.
“Today’s news that Dan and Tanya Snyder are exploring the sale of the Washington Commanders is a welcome development for the team, its former and current employees and its many fans,” attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who they represent more than 40 former employees of the team. he said in a statement on Wednesday. “We have to see how this plays out, but obviously this could be a big step toward healing and closure for the many brave women and men who came forward.”
The NFL has not said when White’s investigation will be completed. The league has said White’s report, unlike the findings of an earlier investigation into the team’s workplace by attorney Beth Wilkinson, will be made public.
The House committee is expected to release its findings in the coming weeks. Daniel Snyder participated remotely in a sworn statement with the committee for more than 10 hours in July. Former team president Bruce Allen testified remotely for about 10 hours under subpoena in September.
In March, Snyder bought out his three limited partners — Dwight Schar, Fred Smith and Robert Rothman, who collectively owned about 40 percent of the franchise — for $875 million. That transaction forced his 31 fellow owners to grant him a waiver to take on an additional $450 million in debt.
The Post reported in November 2020 that Snyder’s limited partners had received a $900 million offer from Behdad Eghbali and José Feliciano, the billionaire co-founders of Clearlake Capital, and Feliciano’s wife, Kwanza Jones. The sale was blocked, people familiar with the situation said at the time, because Snyder was trying to exercise his right of first refusal by matching the offers made to Smith and Rothman, but not the offer made to Schar. This led to a dispute over whether Snyder had the right to selectively exercise these rights.
Eghbali and Feliciano were among the bidders for the Denver Broncos, which were sold by the Pat Bowlen Trust in June to a group led by Walmart heir Rob Walton for $4.65 million. This is the most ever paid by an NFL franchise. The owners ratified Walton’s purchase in August.
The team’s announcement Wednesday also comes as negotiations for public funding for a potential new stadium for the Commanders stalled. The state lawmaker who led efforts to lure commanders to Virginia said in June that those attempts had been halted. State Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said then: “There was so much going on that a lot of people were saying, ‘Saslaw, this has to wait.'”
Before Wednesday, the commanders had said Snyder would not sell the team. A team spokesman said after Irsay’s original public comments: “We are confident that, when he has the opportunity to see the actual evidence in this case, Mr. Irsay will conclude that there is no reason for the Snyders consider selling the franchise. And they won’t.”
In July 2021, the NFL announced that the team had been fined $10 million, based on Wilkinson’s investigation, and that Tanya Snyder would oversee the day-to-day operations of the franchise for an unspecified period.