The Washington Post reported on Monday that Commanders owner Daniel Snyder enraged NFL owners and reopened discussions about perhaps voting him out. Twenty-four hours later, Snyder’s situation only gets worse after ESPN reported that he allegedly charged the club $10 million a year to use one of his private jets and an additional $4.5 million to display the team’s insignia on his own aircraft.
Despite the team’s then-minority owners believing Snyder’s personal jet “provides little or no advertising benefit,” Snyder referred to the $4.5 million payment in documents obtained by ESPN as “an advertising fee.” The fact that the minority owners, who held 40% of the team, did not approve of the $10 million yearly charges and the $4.5 million one-time cost, is another problem.
According to an arbitration petition submitted to the league, per ESPN, minority team owners Dwight Schar, Frederick W. Smith, and Robert Rothman claimed Snyder was using the team as his “personal piggy bank.” But, ESPN reports that the suspected unethical behavior related the club’s plane spending is only the beginning of Snyder’s unauthorized financial decisions. According to certain details of an FBI and IRS investigation into the team, there is far more substantial alleged financial malfeasance.
Snyder is accused of taking out a $55 million loan from the Commanders without getting the consent of the minority owners, which is crucial because it happened 16 months before buying out the people who owned a combined 40% of the team. According to reports, federal prosecutors who are looking into financial crimes have made this loan a top priority.
