04/26/24
July 17, 2020
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Both good questions, though I read last night that the league is not expecting to force Snyder out at this point.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:21 AM on July 18, 2020
I can't believe that the CFO of the NFL hasn't put this to Goodell in straight money terms.
The NFC East is the most valuable division in the league, hands down. Those four franchises are all in the top 10 of the valuation list.
Snyder's mismanaged team has done nothing but play non-competitive football in front of empty seats and generate bad press like a defamation machine. They contribute nothing positive.
The NFC East is also high profile due to the prominence of its media markets and geographic location. If the league had its head screwed on straight, they'd want Washington to be a positive, competitive, well-run franchise.
While Snyder's franchise muddles through muck of their own making, teams from much smaller markets like Tennessee and Kansas City compete for a conference title, and a nearby regional competitor (the Ravens) is poised to remain elite for the near future.
Jerry Richardson's situation was a bit different, but he was still forced out of ownership of a much smaller market team. If the NFL doesn't force Snyder out as the harassment case unfolds, it's hard to believe they would continue to tolerate his ownership for all the other reasons. He is literally costing the league a lot of money and intangibles.
With new ownership, a new stadium, and a new name and design work, the DC team would explode like a multi megaton PR and money bomb.
posted by beaverboard at 12:48 PM on July 18, 2020
What happens if Daniel Snyder finally gets the renaming of his NFL team sorted out and is about to announce the new name when the breaking sexual harassment story causes the league to force him out of ownership?
Also, the minority owners of the franchise who suddenly said they wanted no further part of owning the team a few days ago - how much did they know about the impending Washington Post expose that was published yesterday, and how might that have influenced their decision?