3 reasons NFL owners may vote against ousting Dan Snyder
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is in a difficult spot at the moment. He is in danger of losing his franchise due to controversies. But how can he be booted out if he is the owner?
The NFL runs in mysterious ways, and there is a rule where an owner can be kicked out if 24 others vote to do so. To this point, he has cruised past each controversy, including one involving sexual harassment.
Yet Snyder is also under investigation for not correctly reporting income that his fellow owners should have known. When money is involved, people get angry.
But there are also reasons why his fellow owners may opt to keep him in place, even in a reduced role out of the spotlight. A few reasons point towards that being a likely scenario.
Three reasons why NFL owners may not want to take the nuclear option with Dan Snyder
#1 - Snyder could leak sensitive information
This is the most obvious reason of all. Other NFL owners may be scared. Remember, Jon Gruden lost his job due to emails that surfaced during an investigation into the Washington franchise. It seemed odd that he was the only one who dealt with any repercussions from such an extensive investigation.
Snyder being removed from his franchise could mean more leaks come, this time against other NFL owners. While it may sound extreme and even immature, we just saw what happened to Gruden, so there is already a precedent in place.
#2 - Setting a tricky precedent
NFL owners may sometimes be involved in some not-so-honest business. But everyone can put that aside if the league is making money and fans are enjoying the product.
But let's say Snyder is ousted. That might spook other owners who may know they could be next if certain information were to leak. This is not to say that anyone has done anything like what Snyder is accused of doing. However, it does create a precedent where fellow owners could gang up and remove someone they disagree with on a particular issue.
#3 - Avoiding any negative light cast on the NFL
The last thing NFL owners want is a controversy among their ranks. That is bad for business and could lower franchise values, even if only for a short time. Again, no billionaire owner wants that.
Much of the pressure on the Washington franchise comes from Congress in the form of investigations. If the owner can weather that storm, his counterparts may give him a penalty seen as more of a slap on the wrist than anything else.
That would lead to some public outcry, but fans would quickly go back to just despising Snyder as they have done for years and years.