As the Washington Commanders have marched their way to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991, one name that has been notably absent from the conversation is former owner Daniel Snyder.
And for good reason. Snyder, who served as the team’s owner for 24 years, was forced to sell the franchise in July 2023 to a group led by Josh Harris and Magic Johnson for a record-breaking $6 billion.
The rapid turnaround of the Commanders since Snyder’s departure was a key focus of a revealing ESPN article by Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. published on January 25. The piece delved into Snyder’s controversial tenure and his desperate attempts to retain control of the team.
Among the most shocking revelations was that Snyder reportedly considered blaming his past misbehavior on alcohol. According to ESPN: “A source with direct knowledge said that, after months of negotiations with Harris, Snyder was imagining ways to keep his team. One idea, the source said, was to announce that he had years earlier given up alcohol, and to say that much of his alleged misbehavior over the years that caused so much league and fellow owner angst happened while he was drunk. Snyder also purposefully set a minimum price of $6 billion for the Commanders, knowing that few people, even among the ultrarich, could afford that price tag.”
When Snyder finally exited the NFL, his reputation was left in shambles—or solidified, depending on perspective.
“Snyder had been pressured into the sale by fellow owners who roundly hated him and league executives eager to see the franchise returned to its former glory — and profitability,” Wickersham and Van Natta Jr. wrote. Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue reportedly described Snyder as “the worst owner in the history of the National Football League.”
Snyder Bought Team for $800 Million in 1999
Snyder’s $6 billion sale of the Washington Commanders stands as one of the most significant returns on investment in professional sports history. Having purchased the franchise for $800 million in 1999, he walked away with a staggering $5.2 billion profit.
However, as detailed in Wickersham and Van Natta’s article, Snyder’s exit wasn’t without controversy. Before finalizing the sale, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell fined him $60 million for his actions as owner. These actions included fostering a toxic workplace rife with sexual harassment, manipulating financial records to shortchange other NFL owners, and collecting private information on both Goodell and his closest ally, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, allegedly to use as leverage to retain control of the team.
While Snyder made a fortune from the sale, his tenure was marked by on-field failure. Over 24 seasons under his ownership, the Commanders managed just two playoff wins, the last of which came in 2005. The team never advanced beyond the NFC Divisional Round and only finished above .500 five times during that span—putting them among the league’s most underperforming franchises during his time in charge.
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