Daniel Snyder may be feeling his longtime ownership of the Washington Commanders slipping through his fingers, and the billionaire is said to be spreading a message to the rest of the NFL: you could be next.
ESPN published a lengthy story from Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham and Tisha Thompson on Thursday about the alleged actions Snyder has been taking amid multiple investigations. According to more than 30 team owners, NFL executives and team executives, Snyder has been telling members of his inner circle that he has compiled “dirt” on several other powerful figures around the NFL, including commissioner Roger Goodell. The goal for Snyder is apparently to warn his peers that he will take them down with him if they try to push him out.
Snyder reportedly told a close associate recently that he has gathered enough information to “blow up” Goodell, the league office and several of his fellow NFL owners. He also compared the NFL to a “mafia” and said “all the owners hate each other.” One owner refuted that and said “all the owners hate Dan.”
According to ESPN, Snyder has even gone as far as to hire private investigators to look into Goodell and other powerful NFL figures. One owner was told that Snyder “has dirt on Jerry Jones,” who has been a longtime friend and supporter of Snyder. A Commanders spokesperson told ESPN that any claims about Snyder hiring private investigative firms is “categorically false.”
It was suggested back in May that NFL owners could move to push Snyder out. They would do that either by pressuring him to sell or having 24 of 32 owners vote to remove him. There did not appear to be much support for that at the time, but a more recent report claimed Snyder is losing support among his peers.
Snyder and the Commanders have been at the center of multiple investigations, including the one into the team’s alleged workplace misconduct. That is the investigation that produced the infamous emails that led to Jon Gruden resigning as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. One theory is that Snyder leaked those emails as a warning shot for the rest of the NFL.
Snyder has also faced allegations of financial impropriety, which triggered a congressional investigation. Those claims have been vehemently denied by the organization.
