Commanders owner Dan Snyder “borrowed a $55 million line of credit without the consent of minority partners” … and the league has “BURIED” the issue, with the Washington chief’s “secret loan now the focus of federal investigation.”
Commanders owner Dan Snyder is being investigated for financial misconduct after a “secret” $55 million loan, according to a new report.
Snyder, who is considering selling the franchise, reportedly took up the line of credit without the knowledge and consent of his minority partners Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar and Frederick W. Smith.
And according to ESPN, neither NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell nor an NFL umpire investigated the partners’ allegations of financial misconduct.
The trio, who owned 40 percent of the franchise, reportedly spotted the loan in the fine print of an April 2020 financial report.
The partners reportedly pressured the league’s arbiter to seek evidence the loan was obtained legally, but the NFL dropped the arbitration just four days later.
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is reportedly under investigation
Obtaining loans and lines of credit without the approval of Washington’s board of directors, of which the minority shareholders made up half, is a violation of the team’s shareholder agreement, according to ESPN documents.
Eventually, the partners “reluctantly” agreed to mediation led by Goodell, resulting in Snyder paying his partners $875 million for their 40 percent interest.
“This is prison cheating,” an anonymous source told ESPN.
“The NFL owes them as much as Snyder. And the league had no interest in finding out what happened. They buried it and didn’t examine it and covered it up.”
Documents obtained by ESPN also show Bank of America officials repeatedly asked team bosses for evidence the loan was approved by the board.
But the team leaders “never provided a copy of the board approval before the loan was finalized,” before a lawyer for the team admitted there was no board approval.
The partners also reportedly found that Snyder used the team as his “personal piggy bank,” which included charging the team $4.5 million to put his logo on his private jet, they claimed.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement: “The parties have had a number of disputes which have been certified to the commissioner for arbitration under league rules. The Commissioner appointed a highly respected lawyer as arbitrator and neither party objected to this appointment.’
Snyder reportedly has $7 billion set aside for the franchise, which he has owned since 1999
The Commanders went 8-8-1 last season when they narrowly missed the NFL playoffs
“After several months, the parties were asked if they would be interested in participating in a confidential arbitration with the Commissioner, to which they agreed. Mediation lasted two days and the parties subsequently reached an agreement whereby the three limited partners sold all of their shares in the team to Mr. Snyder at an agreed price and on different terms.
“Each was represented by highly experienced legal and financial advisors. The agreement contained a full release from any claim that was or could have been made by any party to the arbitration.’
A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment to ESPN, while the team has reportedly been fully cooperating with the Eastern District of Virginia.
Snyder announced late last year that he was exploring the possibility of selling the embattled team following investigations into sexual harassment, hostile workplace practices and previous allegations of cheating.
Snyder reportedly values the team at $7 billion.