Dan Snyder’s era as owner of the Washington Commanders came to a quiet end with a news dump released by an investor group led by Snyder and Josh Harris on Friday night. The sale of the team for $6 billion to Harris didn’t result in any fanfare or celebration. The announcement lacked the excitement of the night Snyder won Osama or VE Day, but it was significant enough to catch the attention of former journalists who had worked with Snyder.
One of those journalists was Dave McKenna, who spent 26 years as a writer for the Washington City Paper. McKenna had a front-row seat to Snyder’s attempts to shut down the newspaper and silence its reporters. Snyder even threatened to sue the City Paper over an article McKenna had written about the team’s 70th anniversary.
However, Snyder’s attempts to intimidate McKenna and his colleagues failed, even as he hired multiple lawyers to try to get the journalist fired. In the end, Snyder withdrew his lawsuit, and McKenna eventually retired from the City Paper. Snyder’s reign as owner of the Commanders was similarly fraught, with a record of 164-220-2 and a reputation as one of the least admired owners in American team sports.
Despite all of this, Snyder will likely walk away from the sale of the team richer than ever. The deal with Harris is still pending, but assuming it goes through, Snyder’s net worth will exceed $5 billion. For someone who once threatened to shut down an entire newspaper, that’s a significant achievement.