Less than a day after the sale of the Commanders was approved by the NFL owners, former Washington owners Dan and Tanya Snyder issued a statement on Friday addressing the monumental deal and their 24-year tenure with the franchise.
Following a tumultuous two-plus decades, the Snyders officially sold ownership of the Commanders to the Josh Harris group on Thursday after the long-anticipated move received unanimous approval from NFL owners. The sale came in at a whopping $6.05 billion price tag, making the acquisition the most lucrative purchase of an NFL team in league history.
Thursday’s agreement also coincided with the release of former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White’s findings from a three-year-long investigation into Dan Snyder and the Commanders regarding allegations of workplace misconduct and financial improprieties made by former employees. Snyder received a $60 million fine as punishment for the findings.
The Snyders did not acknowledge the fine or investigation in their joint statement, but made mention of milestones regarding their front office, the loyalty of the fans and the dream of owning an NFL team.
The statement read as follows:
“We congratulate the Harris Ownership Group on yesterday’s unanimous League approval of their purchase of the Washington Commanders. We are proud to have built the most diverse leadership group of any NFL Team, including having the highest representation of women, underrepresented groups, and the first full time black female coach in League history.
“We are immensely grateful to the best fans in football, the Commanders’ faithful, for the passion and unwavering support they have shown for this team and those who represented it on and off the field. From the players who battled every week for that extra inch, to those who worked behind the scenes to enhance every facet of the organization, we thank you for your hard work, dedication and commitment to our team, fans, pursuit of excellence and most importantly, to each other.
“Being stewards of this historic organization for the last quarter century has been the privilege of a lifetime. When we purchased the team nearly 25 years ago, Dan was quoted as saying, ‘I’m a fan. A huge fan. It’s that simple.’ That is as true today as it was then. During our next chapter, we are looking forward to spending time with family and devoting our energy to the causes that matter very much to us, including furthering our long-standing support of breast cancer research.”
Statement from Daniel and Tanya Snyder on the sale of the Commanders:https://t.co/gJIbmkUMoM pic.twitter.com/8IrMeuEhf8
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) July 21, 2023
