Commanders owner Dan Snyder reportedly has 'dirt' on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, according to an explosive report published by ESPN Thursday.
The story — penned by Seth Wickersham, Don Van Natta Jr. and Tisha Thompson — reports that Snyder has threatened to use information gathered from private investigators to "blow up" several NFL owners, the league office and Goodell if he feels threatened to sell his organization.
"Snyder, now 57 years old, has told associates he will not lose his beloved franchise without a fight that would end with multiple casualties," the report details.
With the NFL league meetings scheduled to take place in New York next Tuesday, "Many owners and top league executives tell ESPN they would like to see Snyder removed as owner," according to the report.
"It would clean the slate for a storied team and a cherished fan base and reignite the pursuit for a desperately needed stadium," it goes on to say.
According to the report, the NFL is aware that Snyder has claimed to be tracking fellow owners and one owner was told by Snyder directly that he "has dirt on Jerry Jones," with whom Snyder posed for pictures on the field two weeks ago in Dallas. Another source tells ESPN that Snyder has told a confidant that he has "a file" on Jones. One source tells ESPN that Jones informed Snyder he may not be able to help him any longer.
Perhaps more importantly, several owners tell ESPN that they see Snyder's threats as a "desperate tactic" intended to scare owners from voting to remove him, suggesting that Snyder feels backed into a corner.
"This is what happens when you get into business with bad people," one owner says of Snyder. "They know he'll burn their houses down."
Even in his time away from the team over the past year, Snyder has still had a presence with the team, including a push to trade for quarterback Carson Wentz. Per ESPN, Snyder believes that both a quarterback and a new stadium would serve as silver bullets for his ownership of the franchise.
"All my problems will be solved if I can just get a marquee quarterback," he told an associate last winter, per ESPN.
Washington pulled off a deal for Wentz in March, trading a second-, third- and a conditional third-round pick to Indianapolis for the quarterback who's now been traded twice in two offseasons.
In a statement to ESPN, head coach Ron Rivera insisted he brought the idea of trading for Wentz to Dan and Tanya, but a source with knowledge of the inner workings of the deal told ESPN "it was 100% a Dan move."
In the meantime, the Commanders (1-4) have a football game to play Thursday night against the Bears (2-3).
You can read the full report on ESPN.
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