BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Dan Snyder exited as owner of the Washington Commanders with a $60 million fine as a second NFL-initiated investigation found Snyder inappropriately touched an employee twice at a work-related dinner, and the team improperly held back $11 million of revenue from the league.
The findings from Mary Jo White’s investigation along with the fine of Snyder were released just as Josh Harris secured unanimous approval from the league’s owner to purchase the Commanders for a record $6.05 billion on Thursday.
“The findings speak for themselves,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We had an obligation to release those publicly. We shared those with the ownership today, and we had a full discussion on that.”
Snyder’s fine was the largest-ever handed out by the NFL, surpassing the $10 million record set by Synder in 2021 after a previous investigation into his team’s hostile workplace.
White, the former SEC chair, confirmed that Snyder sexually harassed former Commanders employee Tiffani Johnston. White, however, was unable to substantiate Johnston’s claimed that a senior Commanders executive grabbed a photo of Johnston that was being edited for the Commanders’ 2006 calendar, enlarged it and took it to Snyder’s office.
Johnston originally made the claims in front of a hearing in front of the House Oversight Committee last year.
“In both cases — particularly with Ms. Johnston — [Snyder’s conduct] was inappropriate, wrong, and doesn’t match our values,” Goodell said.
White was hired in February 2022 to investigate Johnston’s claims, and — after Front Office Sports was the first outlet to report allegations of financial improprieties — the scope of White’s probe expanded.
“Over three years ago, our clients bravely came forward to expose the egregious sexual harassment and abuse at the Washington Commanders, and today they can claim total vindication. Dan Snyder has been forced to sell the team he said he would never sell, pay a massive fine to the NFL and there now exists an extensive public record of his personal wrongdoing and the misconduct that occurred under his leadership.
“We are proud of our clients’ courage in coming forward publicly and working tirelessly to hold Mr. Snyder accountable”, said Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent more than 40 former Commanders employees. “The public owes a particular debt of gratitude to Tiffani Johnston and our many clients who testified about the sexual harassment they endured on a daily basis working for the Commanders. Their testimony and subsequent cooperation with Mary Jo White’s investigation has conclusively rebutted Mr. Snyder’s lies about the harassment and abuse that occurred and his role in perpetuating it.”
The allegations that the Commanders used two sets came were made to the Oversight Committee by Jason Friedman, a former VP of ticketing for the Commanders.
“Contrary to the club’s unequivocal public denials of Mr. Friedman’s allegations and its public attacks on his character and credibility, the club has now acknowledged, as alleged by Mr. Friedman, that employees reclassified NFL revenues to non-shareable accounts, causing the club to apparently underreport NFL revenues for sharing,” White’s report stated.
The findings could bolster’s Friedman’s defamation case filed earlier this month against the Commanders and John Brownlee, one of the team’s lawyers.
According to an NFL statement, White and her investigators conducted “interviews with dozens of witnesses,” and reviewed “over 10,000 documents, and assistance from a team of forensic accountants.”
The NFL will have discussions with the NFLPA over the revenue Commanders held back since it would have impacted the the salary cap over the 2009–2015 seasons, a source told FOS.
