• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Washington NFL Team Minority Owners Pressing Snyder to Sell

  • Minority owners are looking to sell their approximately 40% stake in the team.
  • The franchise would likely be worth more with an open path to majority ownership.
Washington NFL Team Minority Owners Reportedly Pressuring Dan Snyder to Sell
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Weeks of turmoil continue for Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder, who is now being pressured by the team’s minority owners to sell the franchise, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Minority owners FedEx Corp. CEO Fred Smith, Black Diamond Capital chairman Robert Rothman and NVR Inc. board chairman Dwight Schar own approximately 40% of the team and have already hired an investment firm to sell their stakes. According to the Journal’s sources, their shares would be more valuable on the market if the entire team were for sale.

When Snyder, 55, bought the team in 1999 for $750 million, he was the youngest owner in the NFL. He made his initial fortune with marketing business Snyder Communications and sold it in 2000, and is currently worth $2.6 billion, according to Forbes

Sources told the Journal that Snyder has “no intention” to sell his majority stake, and has “been reluctant to give any [interested minority buyers] the option to eventually buy control despite the attempt to oust him.” 

In a filing issued Monday in Virginia as part of a larger suit against an Indian media company, Snyder suggested that one of the minority owners tried to leak defamatory information that was published in articles in July that have since been taken down. 

Snyder has been under fire for much of the NFL offseason over a number of issues surrounding the team and its personnel.

In early July, after years of pushback, he announced that the team would drop its former “Redskins” moniker, a racist slur against Native Americans. FedEx, minority owner Smith’s company – which paid $205 million in 1998 for the naming rights to the team’s stadium through 2025 – had made an official request for a name change.

Smith had reportedly been trying to sell his stake in the team for at least a year ahead of the naming standoff, and at one point thought he had a buyer, but the buyer opted to buy a stake in a different team due to Snyder’s slow approval process.

A group of 87 investment firms and shareholders worth a combined $620 billion also issued letters calling for brands to end their relationship with the team until its name is changed, and Nike had pulled the team’s merchandise from its online store. The team announced in late July it would call itself the Washington Football Team during the 2020 season while it decides on a new name. 

On July 16, The Washington Post released an investigation that included allegations from 15 female team employees and two media members of sexual misconduct and harassment by team officials over more than a decade. While Snyder is not directly accused of misconduct, he is said to have fostered a “hostile” work environment.

Shortly after that report, Syder hired prominent sports attorney Beth Wilkinson to conduct an independent review of the allegations, and the team’s culture and policies.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Browns, Cleveland Reach $100M Deal to Clear Team’s Move to Suburbs

The surprise truce includes financial payments and the dismissal of lawsuits.

Titans Turnover: Brian Callahan Firing Adds to Pattern of Instability

Tennessee fired coach Brian Callahan six games into his second season.

Mark Sanchez Breaks Silence Following Arrest, Hospitalization

Fallout from the Fox analyst’s violent incident continues.
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Recording artist Kendrick Lamar performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs at Ceasars Superdome.

Judge Dismisses Drake’s Super Bowl Defamation Suit

The judge said diss tracks aren’t considered facts.

Featured Today

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) celebrates with her teammates after her last second shot to take the lead 90-88 against the Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Oct. 8, 2025.
exclusive

Standoff Over WNBA’s Future Has Dominated Finals

CBA negotiations have stolen the spotlight from the Aces’ dominant performance.
Paul Cartier
October 5, 2025

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Louisville’s Miller Moss and several of his teammates stopped by Olympus Gaming Lounge to play EA Sports College Football 26 with fans for a meet and greet. July 11, 2025

Saudis, Silver Lake, Jared Kushner Take EA Private in $55B Deal

Electronic Arts makes “Madden,” “EA Sports College Football,” and more.
Apr 26, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (5) before game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
June 25, 2025

Rockets Get $20 Million in Wiggle Room From New VanVleet Deal

VanVleet first signed with the Rockets in 2023.
July 6, 2025

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
Sponsored

How Jenny Just Is Shaping the Future of Sports Ownership

Jenny Just on bringing her investment experience to sports ownership.
June 24, 2025

Timberwolves’ 4-Year Ownership Saga Ends As A-Rod, Lore Take Over

The unanimous approval brought a clean end to a long-disputed transaction.
April 20, 2025

Max Verstappen Linked to $300M Aston Martin Deal Ahead of Miami GP

Aston Martin is currently seventh in the constructors championship.
March 27, 2025

Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions Gets PE Boost

The Hall of Famer’s company gains another prominent backer.
March 20, 2025

High School Sports Power Signs Eight-Figure Rights Deal in First

The deal pays roughly $1 million annually, FOS has learned.