Commanders' Dan Snyder 'Survives If’: Inside the Leaked Gruden Goof

Dan Snyder leaked Jon Gruden's emails in 2021, which led to his firing from the Las Vegas Raiders. That started a domino effect that ended his tenure as Washington Commanders owner.

The official end of the Dan Snyder era is coming in just a few days' time, but one final straw could have prevented this from happening.

The sale of the Washington Commanders from Snyder to Josh Harris for $6.05 billion is set to finally become official after months and years of controversies. However, if it hadn't been for one in particular, the sale may not have happened and Snyder could still be the owner of the Commanders.

Just over a year ago, Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned from his position after emails of homophobic slurs he used were leaked to the media.

Snyder was the source.

ESPN is reporting that had it not been for Snyder leaking Gruden's emails, he may not have been so pressured to sell the franchise.

"He was free and clear that October -- he just had to wait out his suspension and let everything blow over," a source close to Snyder told ESPN. "A major miscalculation. Without the leaks, he might just have survived."

The emails were leaked in October 2021, just around the start of the investigation where former team president Bruce Allen was about to testify. A day before Allen's testimony, the emails leaked.

Gruden, the brother of former Washington head coach Jay Gruden, has filed a lawsuit against the NFL for leaking the emails to the Wall Street Journal and defaming his character. But now, Gruden will almost certainly add Snyder to the list of people he has a grievance with.

The motivation behind Snyder leaking the emails at the time he did it is unclear, but if he hadn't, he may still have been the owner of the Commanders.

You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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