Daniel Snyder considers ‘potential transactions’ for Washington Commanders

“Dan and Tanya Snyder and the Washington Commanders announced today that they have hired BofA Securities to consider potential transactions,” the Commanders said in their statement. “The Snyders remain committed to the team, all of its employees and its countless fans to putting the best product on the field and continuing the work to set the gold standard for workplaces in the NFL.”

One person familiar with NFL franchise transactions said Daniel Snyder recently had been interested in attempting to sell minority stakes in the team but did not know whether that remains his intention. Two others familiar with the NFL’s inner workings said it was unclear to them what Snyder intends to do.

“We are exploring all options,” a Commanders spokesperson said.

Snyder and family members own the entire franchise. Snyder led a group of investors that purchased the team and its stadium in 1999 for $800 million from the Jack Kent Cooke estate. Forbes estimated in August that the Commanders are worth $5.6 billion.

“Any potential transaction would have to be presented to the NFL Finance Committee for review and require an affirmative vote by three quarters of the full membership (24 of 32 teams),” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement Wednesday.

Such approval is required to sell either a minority share or the entire team. The NFL declined further comment on the prospective transaction.

Wednesday’s announcement arrives with Snyder and the Commanders under investigation by the NFL, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the attorneys general of D.C. and Virginia.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has said in recent weeks that he and fellow NFL team owners should give serious consideration to voting to remove Snyder from ownership of the Commanders.

“I assume we’re going to get into more and more discussion on that,” Irsay said last month, speaking to reporters at an owners’ meeting in New York. “It’s a difficult situation. I believe that there’s merit to remove him as owner of the [Commanders]. I think it’s something that we have to review. We have to look at all the evidence, and we have to be thorough in going forward. But I think it’s something that has to be given serious consideration to.”

That day, a Commanders spokesperson issued the following statement: “It is highly inappropriate, but not surprising, that Mr. Irsay opted to make statements publicly based on falsehoods in the media. It is unfortunate that Mr. Irsay decided to go public with his statement today, while an investigation is in process, and the team has had no opportunity to formally respond to allegations. The Commanders have made remarkable progress over the past two years….