Dan Snyder, the former owner of the Washington Commanders, is reportedly distraught at the success of the team after he sold it for $6.05bn in 2023.
According to a report by ESPN, Snyder now spends most of his time in London, where he has watched the Commanders’ progress to the NFC championship game with jealousy. During his 24 seasons as Commanders owner, they won only two playoff games, the same number they have won since he sold the team in 2023. His record as Commanders owner off the field was even worse: he was investigated by the NFL and US Congress over allegations of a misconduct. The congressional investigation found Snyder played a large part in what it described as a toxic workplace culture around the team.
According the ESPN report, Snyder tried to back out of the sale to a group led by Josh Harris and Magic Johnson. He reportedly refused to give his bank details to the new ownership group, meaning the sale could not be completed. According to ESPN, it was only when his wife, Tanya, intervened that Snyder finally let the sale go ahead.
Under the team’s new ownership, the Commanders have dazzled this season. They drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels, who already looks like one of the best players in the league, and under his leadership they have reached Sunday’s NFC championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles. If they beat the Eagles they will reach the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1991 season, a feat they never achieved under Snyder.
According to ESPN, one person who recently had dinner with Snyder said the former owner “hates” the Commanders’ newfound success. Another person close to Snyder told ESPN that Snyder has “sadness – for himself. [The team’s success under new ownership] is killing him ... It’s devastating for him.”
The report says that some sources believe Snyder’s next move will be to invest in a Premier League club, which he can run from his new home in London. However, another person close to Snyder says that the Commanders, who he was a fan of from boyhood, were the only team he was interested in. “He isn’t a fan of other sports,” the source said. “He’s a fan of the [Commanders]. That was the biggest thing.”
Melanie Coburn, a former Commanders employee who testified to Congress during its investigation into Snyder’s ownership of the team, said that Washington’s recent success was welcomed by many.
“Karma is real,” Coburn told ESPN. “For years, we endured the dysfunction and toxicity at the organization under Dan Snyder and blamed all the losses on the dark cloud he brought over the team. Turns out, we were right.”
