The Washington Commanders have made the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1992, and disgraced ex-owner Dan Snyder is reportedly struggling with the team’s success.
Snyder, who bought the team in 1999, sold it to Josh Harris 19 months ago for $6billion under pressure from other owners. Snyder oversaw a period in Washington that resulted in just two playoff wins in 24 years, and was found by an NFL investigation to have Sєxually harᴀssed a team employee and created a toxic workplace environment.
Now, the Commanders are one game away from the Super Bowl, and Snyder reportedly ‘f***ing hates’ seeing the team thrive in his absence.
The revelation was made by a Snyder ᴀssociate, who dined with him in the fall, to a colleague, as reported in a new in-depth piece from ESPN which details what Snyder’s life has looked like of late.
Another source added that Snyder was ‘in denial’ about his exit from the organization.
‘Sadness – for himself,’ that person said of how he’s feeling. ‘It’s killing him. … It’s devastating for him.’
Former Commanders owner Dan Snyder is reportedly struggling seeing the team succeed
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has breathed life into the organization this season
According to the piece, Snyder and his wife, Tanya, have been spending most of their time living in London, while sources also added that that he had expressed interest in investing in a Premier League club.
‘I keep hearing he wants another act as a team owner – the Premier League is his dream,’ one source said.
However, others insisted that would never happen and doubted that he would actually go on to own another team.
Snyder has been a Washington fan since he was a child, and the piece detailed just how reluctant he was to sell the team – even after negotiating with Harris for months.
He reportedly pondered the idea of blaming his previous mishaps with the organization on an alcohol problem, and would say he’d given up drinking in an attempt to keep the team.
Even when the sale was nearly closed, he at one point threatened the deal by refusing to share his bank information with Harris, after the league had fined him $60million following its Sєxual harᴀssment and toxic workplace investigation.
It reportedly took convincing from Hall of Fame ex-Washington coach Joe Gibbs, and others, for Sndyer to agree to go ahead with the deal.
Snyder and Tanya have now set up a company called ‘Snyder UK Investments Limited’ according to a document viewed by ESPN, though the 60-year-old and his former franchise are still facing legal issues.
The Commanders are now owned by Josh Harris, who bought the team for over $6billion
The FBI and IRS have been investigating alleged deceptive business practices within the organization since 2022. Team financial records were subpoenaed and some former Commanders executives have reportedly met with prosecutors, though no indictments have been returned.
Snyder is also involved in a lawsuit brought forward by a former minority partner of the team.
Read More How Commanders went from toxic Snyder era and bottom-two record to cusp of Super Bowl in 12 months 
Robert Rothman has alleged that Snyder, the NFL and Bank of America conspired with the NFL and Snyder to force him and two other part-owners to offload their stakes back to Snyder in 2021.
The lawsuit notes that Rothman and the other two owners performed the sales at a valuation that was about just half of the $6.05billion that Snyder eventually sold the team for, according to the piece.
Snyder is said to have owed BOA $1billion in debt when he sold the team, and the bank – which denied wrongdoing – is accused of turning a ‘blind eye’ to ‘financial red flags’ of the ex-owner’s.
Without Snyder at the helm, the Commanders hired a new general manager in Adam Peters, a new head coach in Dan Quinn and drafted the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year in Jayden Daniels.
They could make the Super Bowl for the first time since 1992 with a win against the Eagles this weekend.
