Six Most Shocking Revelations From ESPN’s Dan Snyder Investigation

Longtime Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder was the subject of an extensive investigation conducted by ESPN.

Here are some of the most shocking revelations from the story, which was published Wednesday and written by ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham:

— The leaked emails prompting the dismal of ex-Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden
ESPN reported in October 2022 that the league believed Snyder was behind the leaked emails, which Gruden sent a decade earlier. A congressional report last December also contained testimony that pointed toward Snyder’s organization as the source of the leak. ESPN followed that up with a more damning testimonial.

ESPN cited sources who claimed Snyder, who was serving a punishment after a league investigation exposed a toxic culture in Washington, hoped the emails would deflect blame for his own workplace misconduct and serve as favor to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. It provided Goodell the chance to eliminate Gruden, who ESPN described as “a longtime antagonist.”

Four owners told ESPN they believe Goodell was personally involved, as well.

Additionally, the first leak came on the same day NFL Players Association boss DeMaurice Smith faced a vote from player representatives to keep him in his job. He was in danger of being voted out, but owners and executives viewed him as an asset. ESPN reported that an owner told an associate the league hoped the emails would help Smith survive. They did. He remains in the same role.

The identities of the actual leakers remain unknown.

— Raiders owner Mark Davis was not happy about firing Gruden, but felt pressure from the NFL to do so
What angered Davis more than anything, ESPN wrote, was that he was surprised by the emails despite the fact Goodell and other owners, including Snyder, knew about them for months. Davis felt as if the Raiders were “collateral damage” in an effort to pretext Snyder.

“(Expletive) the NFL,” Davis told Gruden, per ESPN. “And (expletive) Dan Snyder.”

— Snyder and his team of lawyers went into blackmail mode
Snyder’s legal team and select league executives gathered at NFL headquarters in June 2021, and what transpired that day became known as the “Blackmail PowerPoint.”

Snyder’s coalition of lawyers were tasked with presenting a defense against Beth Wilkinson’s investigation into the Commanders workplace misconduct. Instead, Snyder’s legal team presented a slideshow that included screenshots of embarrassing emails and texts from top NFL personnel, per ESPN.

The World Wide Leader wrote: “Although none of the content was sexist, anti-gay or graphic, the signal was clear: If Goodell didn’t do what Snyder wanted in terms of handling the Wilkinson report and punishment, these emails and texts would be leaked.”

— It kind of worked?
Prior to the gathering at NFL headquarters, a handful of NFL executives previously persuaded Goodell to deliver a lengthy punishment to Snyder. But as the time for announcing Snyder’s punishment grew closer, Goodell started to reconsider.

“By late June, Snyder was ‘dictating his punishment’ down to every detail,” ESPN wrote, citing a source with knowledge of the deliberations. The punishment Snyder received was that he would have to step away from day-to-day operations for a few months and pay a $10 million fine. He was never suspended.

ESPN wrote Snyder and his team were “pleased with the results” and bragged how the discipline he received was “surprisingly light.”

— Patriots owner Robert Kraft sought out Jay-Z to help with a big problem: the league’s handling of social justice
“The NFL isn’t picking up on these social issues. We need your help,” Kraft told Jay-Z, per ESPN. The Patriots owner then connected Jay-Z and Roc Nation to Goodell and not long after the league partnered with Roc Nation in a $25 million, five-year deal to “reshape the Super Bowl halftime show, produce music tied to the season, amplify the league’s social justice agenda and, perhaps most importantly, move beyond the controversy around teams’ unwillingness to sign Kaepernick.” 

A former NFL official, however, noted the partnership between the NFL and Roc Nation has been “a mess.”

— Gruden now is consulting for the New Orleans Saints and helping veteran signal-caller Derek Carr.
Gruden, who’s hatred for the NFL is too extensive to capture, doesn’t expect to ever serve as an NFL head coach again. Gruden believes Goodell executed the “kill shot” on his career.