Daniel Snyder Accuses ESPN of ‘False and Malicious’ Reporting in Scathing Letter, Denies Network’s Report He Tried to Gather Dirt on NFL Owners

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Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder sent a letter to other NFL owners defending himself against ESPN’s report that he collected “dirt” on other owners in an effort to potentially weaponize it against them.

The ESPN report claimed that Snyder had private investigation firms collect dirt on other NFL owners, league officials, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. ESPN was told, through one of Snyder’s close associates, that Snyder collected this information through his 23 years of ownership and was ready to “blow up” other owners and Goodell if they forced him to sell the team.

The memo Snyder sent to the other 31 NFL owners read:

“I hope that you and your family are doing well.

I would like to address a recent ESPN article that contains false and malicious statements about the Washington Commanders, our management team, and me and my family. It is particularly shameful for ESPN to diminish the very real accomplishments of our President Jason Wright, who ESPN alleges was placed at the Commanders by the League and has no power to make a real change. I know you know this to be false. Unfortunately, ESPN ignored our efforts to correct the many falsehoods in their article before its publication.

There is one allegation in the ESPN article I feel it is important to address immediately. The article cited unnamed sources who said: ‘they’ve been told Snyder instructed his law firms to hire private investigators to look into other owners” and Commissioner Goodell. That is patently false and intended to erode the trust and goodwill between owners that I take quite seriously. I have never instructed or authorized my lawyers to hire any private investigator on my behalf for any such purpose. And I never would.

While we all are fierce competitors on the field, we are part of this organization because we football, our teams, and our fans. Having the privilege to own a franchise in America’s sport is something I know none of us take for granted. Falsehoods and lies being spread about any of our organizations hurts our League, our players, and our fans, and we simply cannot let them go unchallenged.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, Tanya and I are always available to answer them, and we look forward to discussing these issues with you at the appropriate time.”

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