ClutchPoints
The Washington Commanders are one game away from reaching the Super Bowl for the first time since 1991. All the success they have had this year may not have happened if former owner Dan Snyder blew up the sale at the last second.
Snyder was the franchise’s owner for 24 years from 1999 to 2023, selling the Commanders for a historic $6.05 billion. However, sources told ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. that he tried to stop the transaction from being completed.
“One idea, the source said, was to announce that he had years earlier given up alcohol, and to say that much of his alleged misbehavior over the years that caused so much league and fellow owner angst happened while he was drunk. Snyder also purposefully set a minimum price of $6 billion for the Commanders, knowing that few people, even among the ultrarich, could afford that price tag,” they reported.
“Suddenly, the sale’s closing — a supposed formality — turned into an eleventh-hour drama, multiple sources with direct knowledge told ESPN. Snyder threatened to kill the deal by refusing to share his bank information, preventing Harris from wiring him the money. At 1 a.m. on July 21, Snyder and his wife were fielding phone calls from various executives and confidants, urging him to do what he’d pledged and let go of the team.”
Dan Snyder caused plenty of trouble for the Washington Commanders to recover from, with numerous allegations of workplace misconduct, sexual misconduct, and financial controversies surrounding the disgraced owner.
Now free from his control, the Commanders are in the midst of their best season since 1991 as they get ready for the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
They exceeded expectations in the regular season by finishing 12-5. In the playoffs, they stunned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their home field and broke the hearts of Detroit Lions fans by upsetting the one-seeded juggernaut in the Divisional Round.
They sky’s now the limit for the Commanders, especially with rookie star quarterback Jayden Daniels leading the way to prop his teammates Terry McLaurin, Brian Robinson Jr., and Zach Ertz among many others. They will be determined to get the job done for Commanders fans who went through so much in the past three decades.
Fighting for a spot in Super Bowl 59, the Commanders face the Eagles at the Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
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