The Commanders have been perhaps the biggest feel-good redemption story in the NFL this season, but ousted former owner Dan Snyder isn’t feeling good or particularly redeemed over Washington’s surprise advancement to the NFC championship game Sunday against the Eagles.
“He f–king hates it,” a Snyder associate who recently dined with him in London told a colleague, according to ESPN.
The 60-year-old Snyder’s tumultuous ownership tenure, which began in 1999, was plagued by poor results on the field and various scandals off of it.
He reluctantly sold the Commanders under pressure from other league owners to a group fronted by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion in a deal that was ratified in June 2023.
An NFL investigation uncovered a “toxic” and “highly unprofessional” workplace environment under Snyder that featured allegations of bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment, with the league fining the franchise $10 million.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee also determined in a separate investigation that the franchise and the NFL covered up years of sexual misconduct inside the organization.
The team also missed the playoffs 18 times in 24 seasons under Snyder and didn’t win a postseason game over nearly 20 years from 2005 until this season under first-year coach Dan Quinn and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The Commanders haven’t reached the Super Bowl since the 1991-92 campaign.
Snyder, who mostly resides now in London, declined to be interviewed by ESPN for its feature story that was posted Saturday morning on its website.
Snyder also resisted changing the team nickname for years until retail chains threatened to cease selling team merchandise and stadium sponsor FedEx threatened to end its relationship with the team if the former name and logo were not changed.
The team was rebranded as the Washington Football Team in 2020 before renaming it the Commanders for the 2022 season.
Following the sale to the Harris group, the NFL slapped an additional $60 million fine on Snyder after an independent investigation, for sexually harassing a team employee and withholding revenues from the league.
Now all Snyder can do is watch as the franchise is thriving without him.
