The Washington Commanders are heading into 2024 hoping to start a new era of the franchise after more than two decades of bad personnel decisions, poor treatment of the fans, a toxic workplace for anyone that worked for them team and an overall damaged culture Dan Snyder created and continued since buying the team in 1999.
Before the then Redskins were sold to Snyder, they were viewed as one of the most prestigious franchises in all of sports. With Joe Gibbs as head coach and under owner Jack Kent Cooke, Washington won three Super Bowls from 1982 to 1991 and reached the playoffs 19 times before Snyder bought the team in 1999.
The only season Washington advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs under Snyder was in 2005, where Mark Brunell, Santana Moss and Clinton Portis helped propel the team to sneak into the playoffs — and despite a lackluster offensive performance — they knocked off Tampa Bay (17-0) in the opening round. But the Sehawks would win in the second round of the playoffs, ruining Washington’s chance of reaching the NFC Championship game, which they hadn’t done since 1991.
In 2022, a series of events led Snyder to change the name of the team, something he swore he would never do. They then became the Washington Commanders.
In July 2021, a year-long independent investigation led by lawyer Beth Wilkinson into the team’s workplace culture under owner Daniel Snyder was concluded. It found that several incidents of sexual harassment, bullying, and intimidation were commonplace throughout the organization under his ownership.[ The NFL fined the team $10 million in response, with Snyder also voluntarily stepping down from running the team’s day-to-day operations, giving those responsibilities to his wife and team CEO Tanya. A U.S. House Oversight Committee report later corroborated the claims and accused him of withholding security deposit from season ticket holders.
After mounting pressure from other league owners to sell the team, Snyder hired BofA Securities in November 2022 to explore possible transactions. In May 2023, he reached an agreement to sell the franchise to a group headed by Josh Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management and owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, for $6.05 billion, a new record for the price of a NFL franchise.
Right now, there is optimism surrounding the Washington Commanders for the first time in a long time. The new ownership group landed one of the brightest up and coming minds in the NFL by landing 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters. And Peters then helped the franchise land on former Falcons head coach and recent Cowboys DC Dan Quinn as their new head coach.
With the second overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, Washington selected the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, with the hope to solidify the franchise QB position that has eluded the franchise for the last few decades. While the future of the franchise looks brighter than ever, there are still reminders from the past.
Former Washington Commanders Owner Dan Snyder Told Champ Bailey He Was A ‘P**ck’ On First Encounter After Buying Team
Champ Bailey is one of the greatest cornerbacks to play in the NFL and he was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft.
Bailey went on to earn 12 Pro Bowl selections in his 15 NFL seasons and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
The former NFL shutdown cornerback recently joined the Dominique Foxworth show and shared a wild story about the former Washington Commanders owner and how he instantly changed the culture for the worst as soon as he took over the team in 1999.
Bailey was asked how quickly the culture changed when Snyder took over.
How fast did the culture change in Washington once Dan Snyder arrived?
"The moment he took the stage. I can remember vividly our first meeting and he just said something WILD, like 'I'm a pr*ck.' That was his first sentence." – @champbailey reflects on his time with Washington. pic.twitter.com/ghD3fcHwms
— The Domonique Foxworth Show (@FoxworthShow) August 19, 2024
“The moment he took the stage. I can remember vividly our first meeting and he just said something WILD, like ‘I’m a pr*ck.’ That was his first sentence, Bailey recalled.
It’s clear the Washington Commanders are much better off now that Snyder is gone as the team’s owner.
Sean Labar is a sports writer who has covered the NFL and college football for 12+ years. Since graduating from Towson University with a degree in journalism, he has worked & written for the Washington Nationals, Sports Illustrated, On3, Saturday Down South and OutKick amongst other national media outlets and websites. Sean joined Gridiron Heroics in 2023 to focus on NFL and college football coverage. He primarily focuses on the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders. On the college scene, he covers the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ole Miss Rebels, Colorado Buffaloes, Texas Longhorns and Michigan Wolverines. Sean currently resides in Virginia with his two rescue pups, Wally & Reagan.
