Goodbye Gruden and ongoing Snyder investigation discussion

Marciano490

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So what's the deniability here, lawyers? He just told the firm to "do what needs to be done"? He didn't use the words "private investigators"?
He didn’t hire a PI. He didn’t tell his lawyers to hire a PI. Every other scenario available in the multiverse is left. It’s not that hard to say “I have not, nor have I authorized anyone…”
 

GeorgeCostanza

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So what's the deniability here, lawyers? He just told the firm to "do what needs to be done"? He didn't use the words "private investigators"?
He didn’t hire a PI. He didn’t tell his lawyers to hire a PI. Every other scenario available in the multiverse is left. It’s not that hard to say “I have not, nor have I authorized anyone…”
Or he’s flat out lying in that letter. Because of course he is. He’s a lying liar.
 

djbayko

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He didn’t hire a PI. He didn’t tell his lawyers to hire a PI. Every other scenario available in the multiverse is left. It’s not that hard to say “I have not, nor have I authorized anyone…”
Or he’s flat out lying in that letter. Because of course he is. He’s a lying liar.
Yes, he could be lying. But also, the ESPN article states that Snyder had collected this dirt over his 23 years as owner, and not necessarily all from private investigators.

On the one hand, Snyder was allegedly looking to wield this information as a sort of blackmail or leverage against being ousted. That doesn't really work if he denies having it.

On the other hand, Snyder might have realized (possibly due to the reaction to the ESPN report) that such a maneuver was likely to backfire and cause all other owners to see him as a snake which must be dealt with and want him gone.
 

joe dokes

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So what's the deniability here, lawyers? He just told the firm to "do what needs to be done"? He didn't use the words "private investigators"?
".....on my behalf...."

It was done on behalf of "The Washington Commanders Football Club Team Association Inc. LLC Corp."
 

Was (Not Wasdin)

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I dont think the other owners care at all about a misogynistic, toxic culture, even at one of the league's marquee franchises. It's good business for them to say they care, and they'll say they care, but they don't.

I do think if they find that he's been manipulating revenues to avoid revenue sharing payments, he'll be gone by sundown. Cant have Snyder screwing Bob Kraft or Stan Kroenke out of an extra 20k, or whatever it works out to, because that "undermines everything the league was built on."
 

Van Everyman

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Meanwhile at the meetings you have Jerry Jones, once again on a mission to deny Goodell a contract, lashing out at Kraft:

NFL owners voted 31-1 on Tuesday to permit their compensation committee to open negotiations on a new contract with commissioner Roger Goodell, but not before two of the league's most powerful owners, the Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones and New England Patriots' Robert Kraft, engaged in a heated exchange, league and ownership sources told ESPN.

The sources said Kraft joined the overwhelming majority in strong support for the measure, with Jones the lone dissenter in the owners-only session, eventually telling Kraft, "Don't f--- with me."

Kraft replied, "Excuse me?"

"Don't mess with me," Jones said.

The measure then passed, sources said.
Sounds like everyone's having a blast.
 

AB in DC

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Or he’s flat out lying in that letter. Because of course he is. He’s a lying liar.
Usually in these cases the specific details of the article are inaccurate (Snyder telling his lawfirms to hire PIs) but the overall story is right (Snyder is gathering dirt on the other owners surreptitiously)
 

Lose Remerswaal

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The check was only cut a week ago. Still makes no sense but it only took a week to replace it. I know with the Red Sox they don’t cut the check for 30 days. At least that was the case a few years ago. Not sure why.
 

BigSoxFan

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Snyder was clearly buying time to find some dirt on the winner that he could use to stiff him
 

Van Everyman

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So … did Goodell or one of the owners put Jim Irsay up to this? The Athletic has a great piece by Bob Kravitz of all people on Irsay and why he came out to call on the owners to expel Snyder. Kravitz does a nice job explaining how Irsay is actually a beloved and kind of cool owner – and everyone seems to be bending over backwards to say how the rest of the owners aren’t there yet when it comes to dumping Snyder.

But I couldn’t help but think how unlikely it is for any NFL owner to go rogue on something like this – and how ideal Irsay is in the wake of the “dirt” allegations to be the one coming forward since he’s pretty much an open book.

So are these just the musings of a maverick wackadoo owner? Or is there some contingent finally making a push to dump Snyder?
 

Justthetippett

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Might be the smartest thing Snyder has ever done. Get out before things get worse, and get paid handsomely. And good for the NFL too.
 

NDame616

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I know Bezos has always been rumored to want a team but can he own one if his comoany has a streaming deal with the NFL?
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I wonder if we get our first five billion handle print for a US sports franchise. I would bet it happens and maybe comfortably.
 

cornwalls@6

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A little bit of a walk-back, or at least public posturing. But since anyone wanting a minority interest in them with Snyder still involved seems very unlikely, I'd say the train is probably still on the tracks. Turning a massive profit isn't in anyway him being accountable for the awful things he's done or enabled to be done, but getting him out of the league would be a good thing, particularly for those still employed by him.


https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/11/02/commanders-announce-hiring-of-firm-to-consider-potential-transactions/
 

Van Everyman

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I know Bezos has always been rumored to want a team but can he own one if his comoany has a streaming deal with the NFL?
If I’m correct, Snyder hates Bezos, partly due to the Post’s coverage of him. Of course he might hate him less if Bezos offers $6 billion to buy the team. Also, given that he’s no longer CEO of Amazon, the Thursday thing may not be a problem.

The first thing the new owner should do is rename the team again. Commanders is a terrible team them and is associated with all the Daniel Snyder stink. Start fresh and get the fan base excited.
 

SemperFidelisSox

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The other owners need to vote on any new owner, right? So Snyder can’t stick it to everybody by selling the team to some Saudi Prince with a chainsaw collection?
 

nattysez

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The other owners need to vote on any new owner, right? So Snyder can’t stick it to everybody by selling the team to some Saudi Prince with a chainsaw collection?
Correct.

The perfect person for Snyder, who seems to be the king of petty, to sell to would be MacKenzie Scott - Bezos's ex-wife. It would piss off Bezos and put a pretty liberal woman in the owners' room. The owners will never approve her and she likely wants to use her money for better causes, but a man can dream.
 

mauf

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The perfect person for Snyder, who seems to be the king of petty, to sell to would be MacKenzie Scott - Bezos's ex-wife. It would piss off Bezos and put a pretty liberal woman in the owners' room. The owners will never approve her and she likely wants to use her money for better causes, but a man can dream.
Riffing on this, there’s absolutely an opportunity for someone who wouldn’t normally get approval to buy their way into the club by ponying up the $6b+ it’s going to take to buy the Commanders. The NFL won’t let a foreign oligarch buy the team, but they’d be hard-pressed to turn down, say, Mark Cuban if he’s the highest bidder.
 

bankshot1

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Who better to own the Commanders than a former Commander in Chief?

The guy has lived in DC, knows the landscape, is itching to get back and has always wanted an NFL franchise.

A hands off guy who would put some skin in the game.

Not his own, but why quibble?

Besides I'd rather him promoting and f'ing up the Commanders than promoting fascism and f'ing up America.
 

Ale Xander

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Who better to own the Commanders than a former Commander in Chief?

The guy has lived in DC, knows the landscape, is itching to get back and has always wanted an NFL franchise.

A hands off guy who would put some skin in the game.

Not his own, but why quibble?

Besides I'd rather him promoting and f'ing up the Commanders than promoting fascism and f'ing up America.
If 45 gets the Commanders, the Nets should be sold to 42. Not that far from Chappaqua, empathy with Ime, and a bigger basketball fan than Trump is a football fan.
 

canderson

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I would bet quite a bit of money this is him positioning to see, a minority stake so he can get funding for a New stadium - after all, he begged Virginia for free money and they told him to pound sand.
 

Yaz4Ever

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Elon Musk, who will change the name to the Redskins ... likely will overpay and piss off Bezos, win-win for Snyder
 

PedroKsBambino

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I’m not even totally sure the NFL would turn down a Saudi prince to get rid of Snyder….this is a very unique opportunity where you almost surely won’t get turned down
 

Bread of Yaz

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Since Snyder has been defiant for many years in the face of mounting pressure, it feels like the League gave him a "sell or we'll vote you out" ultimatum after the recent meetings (perhaps after getting wind of the EDVA investigation into his financial chicanery with season ticket holders and payments to the league), and that the Irsay comment about how he should be gone was sanctioned by Goodell as a trial balloon/way to turn up the pressure. If that is what happened, then kudos to the NFL for finally doing something right (much as I hate to give it credit for anything).
 

Ralphwiggum

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Man, there is no bottom for Snyder. What an absurd and disgusting statement. The reason why there is so much crime in DC is that the AG is investigating the Commanders rather than going after the real criminals? Fuck off.
 

Van Everyman

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So it seems the pressure is building again to push Snyder to sell.

This week we learned Snyder had apparently barred Bezos from bidding on the team, which would almost certainly lower the bid price, which of course impacts the whole league in a world of revenue sharing.

And now, it appears that the reason Snyder bought out his minority partners a few years ago was that they discovered a $55M loan on the books that the board never approved that the NFL refused to investigate. Instead Goodell agreed to mediate the dispute in secret after which the three minority partners sold their 40% stake in the Commanders to Snyder for $875M (Dan is asking for $7B BTW).

View: https://twitter.com/dvnjr/status/1630542189351645186?s=46&t=D3vVQ4oqRSTzOAYrtYzixQ


Good times.
 

Van Everyman

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ALao, I had no idea that Arthur Smith, the HC of the Falcons, was the son of Fred Smith, the, uh, CEO and founder of FedEx (and one of said minority partners).

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