Sell the Team? Should NFL Oust Dan Snyder After New Washington Commanders Financial Scandal?
The Washington Commanders continue to stumble into trouble - and this time it involves not just his employees, but his fellow NFL owners.
Congress has reportedly received troubling allegations made against the Commanders that alleged that owner Daniel Snyder's club held back ticket revenue from NFL teams.
NFL rules state teams are required to share 40 percent of net home ticket sales with other teams. In the sort of scheme that would surely get Snyder in as much trouble as anything before it - so much trouble that the calls for Snyder to fire the team might start coming from his own partners - the Commanders allegedly held that portion back, keeping that massive amount of money for themselves.
“According to NFL bylaws, all teams are required to pass along 40% of ticket sales from each home game — minus ticket handling charges and taxes — to the league, which then disperses the funds to visiting teams,” writes Front Office Sports. “At least one person gave information in recent weeks to Congressional investigators that alleges the Commanders didn’t pass along the full 40%, two sources with knowledge of the investigation told FOS.”
The Commanders have denied the charge. But while investigators keep looking for fire, there is no denying this: the Washington football team cranks out a lot of scandalous smoke.
Does it - all of the smoke- impact the football team? Alex Smith says so.
But now that it is allegedly impacting the pocketbooks of the other 31 billionaires who very dearly love their billions, does it create a shaky future for Snyder as an owner?
Is this the final straw that causes the NFL to not just suspend Snyder, but to oust him? As in a "sell-the-team!'' ouster? He will certainly have partners who harbor that view.
To those who follow the Commanders front office dealings, this is shocking ... but at the same time not entirely new. Snyder recently paid the NFL a $10 million fine for the team's front office sexual misconduct and is essentially under a suspension at this time, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stating last week that he is not supposed to be involved in day-to-day responsibilities within the organization. ... while at the same time there are indications that Snyder has not truly obeyed that suspension.
An investigation of the Commanders’ financial inner-workings? Yes, that is coming. And yes, that would be "yet another investigation.''
