Dan Snyder’s record $6.05bn sale of the Washington Commanders will mark the end of a 24-year tenure defined by scandal, dysfunction and ineptitude
The long national nightmare could soon be over. NFL fans in and around the nation’s capital haven’t stopped buzzing since word spread this week that Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder had agreed to sell the storied NFL franchise. With that hurdle cleared, it’s now down to the league’s 31 other team owners to rubber stamp the record $6.05bn deal. The rumored purchase price would exceed the guestimate Forbes came up with earlier this year for the Dallas Cowboys, ostensibly the world’s most valuable sports franchise, as well as the record $4.65bn cost of the recently sold Denver Broncos.
Never mind that the 58-year-old Snyder, one of the great sports villains of the last quarter-century, makes off like a bandit in the exchange. The news of his imminent departure has landed like Dorothy’s farmhouse in the Land of Oz. “DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD,” tweeted one Commanders fan. Another, speaking to radio station WTOP, likened the breakup to a “bad marriage/relationship for 20-something years, then you finally get that divorce and find a hotter, young lady that comes and puts a smile on your face.”
