Josh Harris has already won in D.C. because of who he’s not.
He can take a bow. Just because.
Harris, head of the new ownership group of the Washington Commanders, is not Dan Snyder.
That is cause for so much celebration for a Commanders fan base that suffered too much for too long. Winner, winner, this Harris would be. Can a taxpayer-supported deal for a new stadium – maybe even in the city, if not suburban Virginia or Maryland, despite more pressing civic needs – be far behind? Will Democrats and Republicans join hands and dance in the aisles on Capitol Hill? Are the Hogs back in vogue? Sellouts, again, ticketed for FedEx Field?
NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the Commanders for a record $6.05 billion – with the attached condition of a $60 million fine for Snyder – during a special league meeting in Minneapolis on Thursday. And they were so eager to do it.
Sure, the price tag means that the franchise value of every other NFL franchise has instantly increased. And with new ownership, the Commanders conceivably can get the deals done, including sponsorships, that Snyder apparently couldn’t anymore because of his tattered reputation. With the team based in such a treasured market, that, too, raises the values of other NFL franchises.
Yet other owners were also motivated to usher Snyder – who bought the franchise in 1999 for a then-record $800 million – out of their powerful club because his shame was too much to be associated with.
Think about it. NFL owners over the years have taken one hit after another for questionable business and personal matters of some of them. Yet until Snyder’s alleged misdeeds surfaced – the workplace culture and sexual harassment allegations, followed by charges that the team tried to hide revenues to be shared with other franchises – none of the alleged transgressions rose to the level where owners seriously considered voting Snyder out.
Roughly 15 months ago, several owners, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me how they were contemplating measures for Snyder’s removal, which was possible under the NFL’s bylaws and constitution. As one owner put it, “We are counting votes.”
Now it’s done without that battle. The league announced on Thursday that the hefty fine is tied to the findings by former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White from her lengthy investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and financial improprieties.
Exhale, Commanders fans. It’s done. Finally. The witch is dead. Snyder is officially out as the NFL’s worst owner, and he leaves with a legacy of futility.
When he bought in, Snyder was so full of promise. He was just 34, and as a D.C.-area native, he was a lifelong fan of the Burgundy and Gold. There was no question that he was all-in for trying to field a winner; quickly proven by his willingness to overpay by the millions for free agent players – and for at least one coach, Steve Spurrier.
The team won a playoff game during Snyder’s first year of ownership. Woo hoo. Since then, Washington won just one more playoff game. And that was just one measure of Snyder’s journey into running one of the NFL’s signature franchises into the ground.
All told, Snyder’s legacy is a blueprint for what not to do when owning an NFL franchise.
Of course, proof of the workplace culture allegations and charges of sexual harassment – at least 40 women have come forward with claims dating to the early 2000s – would be enough to close the book on Snyder’s pitiful mark on NFL history. One of the more disgusting cases, revealed in a New York Times story in 2018, alleged that team cheerleaders were essentially forced to pose topless for a photo shoot held in Costa Rica and attended by all-male sponsors and suite holders. There were also the alleged lewd videos with outtakes of cheerleaders ordered by team executives, first reported by The Washington Post. Although the league on Thursday released White’s 23-page report on the most recent allegations, details from a previous investigation, conducted by Beth Wilkinson, weren’t released publicly and no written report was ever produced. Wilkinson’s findings led to an agreement in 2021 between Snyder and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for Snyder to relinquish day-to-day control of the franchise to his wife, Tanya, in addition to a $10 million fine.
Yet even without the serious issues of harassment and a toxic workplace culture, Snyder served up so many items for the blueprint of what to avoid. Among them:
- Early in his tenure, there was a reason that agents representing free agents wanted their clients to attract attention from the Washington owner. He blew up the market in overpaying for fading, aging players.
- He lured Spurrier from the college ranks in 2002 with to a then-record five-year, $25 million contract. It was Spurrier’s first NFL head coaching gig. And his last. He lasted two years.
- In the early 2000s, Snyder charged fans $10 to attend training camp practices – traditionally free, for decades and across the NFL – and $10 for parking. It was one of the first money-grab moves that sowed seeds of discontent with a loyal fan base.
- He vehemently resisted pleas to change the team’s racist name. In 2013, he told USA TODAY’s Erik Brady that he would “NEVER” change the team’s name. He ultimately dropped the name in 2020, amid the racial reckoning in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, as FedEx threatened to sever its sponsorship ties if the team name wasn’t changed.
No, Harris, owner of the NBA Philadelphia 76ers and NHL New Jersey Devils, certainly doesn’t need any advice from Snyder especially, about what not to do as he leads a new era for the Commanders.
Yet for all of the follies of his predecessor, Harris has quite the head start in the goodwill department with Commanders fans.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.
