Report: WFT Owner Daniel Snyder to Buy Out Minority Owners
Washington Football Team majority owner Daniel Snyder is buying out his minority owners' 40.5% stake in the franchise, according to Go Long's Tyler Dunne.
Dunne reported that Snyder requested a debt waiver for $450 million to fund the agreement.
According to The New York Times' Ken Belson and Katherine Rosman, league owners are expected to approve the special waiver next week.
In August, the Wall Street Journal first reported news of the team's minority owners, FedEx CEO Fred Smith, Black Diamond Capital chairman Robert Rothman and NVR Inc. board chairman Dwight Schar, trying to pressure Snyder to sell the franchise. At the time, the Journal also reported news of the three aforementioned minority owners hiring an investment firm to try and sell their stake.
According to The Times, Snyder will pay $875 million for the 40.5% stake, allowing him to take complete control of the franchise he first bought a majority stake in in 1999.
Snyder's effort to obtain complete control of the team also comes as the NFL is wrapping up its investigation into sexual harassment claims made against former Washington Football Team executives.
Washington launched an investigation into the matter shortly after a Washington Post report this past summer but the NFL took over the investigation in August. Before the Super Bowl, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said attorney Beth Wilkinson was “nearing the completion” of her investigation.
Last summer, the team also announced the club announced that it temporarily would call itself the "Washington Football Team," effective immediately, as it figures out a new name to adopt at a later date. That followed the team saying it would "retire" its old nickname after facing criticism and mounting pressure from sponsors.
Snyder had insisted for years that he would never change the team's name.
The team is expected to remain the Washington Football Team throughout next season, but it appears that the team will have a new name starting in 2022.
