The Washington Commanders are one win away from the Super Bowl, which is a far cry from where they were just two years ago. They were mired in scandal thanks to former owner Dan Snyder, who ultimately sold the team in July of 2023.
Since then, they have reshaped the entire organization, rebuilt the front office, and overhauled their roster. They struck gold in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft when they selected quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The turnaround is a true Cinderella story. It’s been a dream for those in Ashburn and their legions of fans, but a nightmare for Snyder.
During a 2024 dinner meeting in London, where Snyder and his family spend most of their time, he griped about his former team’s success. The fact that they’ve so rapidly improved in his absence is an obvious sore spot.
“He f—ing hates it,” one of the anonymous dinner guests told ESPN.
Snyder didn’t want to sell the Commanders but caved to mounting pressure from fellow owners, who wouldn’t exactly call themselves friends. The added optics from multiple scandals certainly didn’t help the situation and ultimately led to a deep hole Snyder couldn’t dig himself out of.
Having been effectively forced out of the NFL, Washington’s current success feels like added salt in the wounds — not that anyone is going to feel any great empathy for Snyder, who remains “in denial.”
“Sadness — for himself,” a person close to Snyder said. “It’s killing him. … It’s devastating for him.”
While Snyder has a pity party, others find great joy in Washington’s success. Not just because the organization has worked so hard for it, but because they feel Snyder deserves to have his nose rubbed in it.
“Karma is real,” former cheerleader and Congressional witness Melanie Coburn said. “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.”
As the Commanders return to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991 on Sunday, Snyder will reportedly attempt to distract himself by shopping for partial ownership of a Premier League soccer team. He hopes for “redemption” while the Commanders simply hope to put their ugly past behind them.
